“If the question is: Do we have confidence in this government? The answer is no, we don’t,” said Le Pen after meeting with Bayrou Tuesday.
Le Pen promised in July to stand in any new elections despite her legal troubles. A National Rally official, who like others quoted in this piece was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the case, told POLITICO that the party is not considering finding a replacement.
A Le Pen adviser explained that if new elections were called, she would likely then submit her paperwork to run with election authorities in her constituency, which would undoubtedly be rejected. She could then file an appeal with an administrative court which, if rejected, she could appeal on the constitutionality of her ban with the hopes that the case would quickly make its way to the constitutional court.
An individual familiar with the court’s inner workings told POLITICO it would take six months for the judges to render a decision, making it impossible for Le Pen to run.
But some lawyers working for Le Pen believe they have found precedents for cases to be settled very quickly, the Le Pen adviser said, including one in favor of Macron’s political party in May 2017 shortly after his presidential victory but before legislative elections the following month.
The individual familiar with the court said the 2017 case is “absolutely not comparable” to Le Pen’s.