On the eve of the opening of her appeal trial in the parliamentary assistants case, Jordan Bardella, president of the Rassemblement National (RN), reaffirmed his total support for Marine Le Pen. He stated that a new conviction for ineligibility would be "profoundly worrying for democracy". Bardella also emphasized that he is not a candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
On January 12, 2026, Jordan Bardella presented his New Year's wishes to the press, on the eve of the opening of Marine Le Pen's appeal trial in the parliamentary assistants case of the Front National (FN, renamed Rassemblement National or RN in 2018). Convicted in the first instance to five years of ineligibility with immediate execution, the leader of the RN deputies risks seeing her political future jeopardized for the 2027 presidential election.
Bardella expressed his "total support and friendship" for Le Pen, stating that she "will demonstrate her innocence." He described a potential new conviction as "profoundly worrying for democracy," as it would deprive the French of a candidate already qualified twice for the second round and the undisputed favorite in polls. "Democracy assumes the free choice of the people, without hindrance or disloyal act," he added in Le Pen's presence.
The RN president reiterated that there is "no political difference" between them and that he is "not a candidate for the presidential election" but aims for the position of Prime Minister. A Verian survey for Le Monde and L'Hémicycle shows that RN sympathizers see him as a stronger electoral asset. Bardella will not attend the trial but remains in daily contact with Le Pen.
For her part, Marine Le Pen stated on the sidelines of Bardella's speech: "There is only one line of defense, it is to tell the truth. That is my strategy. To tell the truth as I did in the first instance, hoping to be better heard on appeal." Polls credit both RN figures with equal potential in the first round, an unprecedented phenomenon in the party's history.
This trial, opening on January 13 at the Paris court, is decisive for the RN, which has become a political juggernaut in the polls. Bardella emerges as an effective Plan B, allowing the party to maintain its chances even if Le Pen fails.
