France's far right calls for Paris rally in support of Le Pen

French far-right leader Jordan Bardella has called on people to rally in the centre of Paris on Sunday in protest at a ruling that has banned Marine Le Pen from running for public office for five years.

Le Pen's bid to become France's next president in 2027 was dealt a dramatic blow on Monday, when judges said she had been at the heart of an operation which saw the embezzlement of €2.9m ($3.4m; £2.5m) of EU funds between 2004 and 2016.

Bardella, the president of the National Rally (RN) party, said the French had to be "outraged" by the sentence.

The Paris Court of Appeal said on Tuesday it should be able to provide a decision on the case by the summer of 2026 - several months ahead of the 2027 election.

"We'll take to the streets this weekend," Bardella said during a press conference on Tuesday, with a call for "democratic, peaceful, calm mobilisations". The first event is planned for Place Vauban close to the Eiffel Tower on Sunday.

Sitting beside him, Le Pen said a "nuclear bomb" had been used against the RN to stop the party getting into power.

The longtime figurehead of the French far right added that the "system" had used a "powerful weapon" against the RN, "evidently because we are about to win the elections".

"We won't let them get away with it," she added. People had to use their "outrage and hurt" to motivate them to persevere: "We will hold on until the end, until victory."

Earlier on Tuesday, Bardella condemned the "tyranny of the judges" and said that "everything was being done to stop us from getting to power".

He also criticised the insults that the judges have received since handing down the sentence on Monday, as did Le Pen, who said any threats to magistrates were "unacceptable".

They were echoing Rémy Heitz, the prosecutor general at the Court of Cassation - the highest court in France - who said earlier on Tuesday that there had been "very personalised attacks" and threats against the three judges who had determined Monday's verdicts.

Citing a police source, newspaper Le Figaro reported that Bénédicte de Perthuis, the president judge in the Le Pen case, had been placed under protection following threats.

Le Pen was gearing up to run for the presidency for a fourth time and had a good chance of winning. She is clearly reluctant to hand the baton to Jordan Bardella, who at 29 is seen by some as lacking the experience necessary to hold France's highest office.

Since she has been ruled ineligible, Le Pen has said she will not "let herself be eliminated like this". Bardella has steered clear of being drawn into the discussion at this stage, refusing to say whether he was National Rally's "plan B".

However, RN spokesman Laurent Jacobelli said that although the party would fight to have Le Pen as candidate, Bardella was "the most naturally legitimate" alternative.

Voters may agree. A poll published a day before Le Pen was sentenced showed that around 60% of RN voters would back Bardella over Le Pen at the presidential election if he were to run, and that he would come out top with up to 36% of the total vote.

Le Pen has garnered the support of several rightwingers in Europe and beyond, including Hungary's Viktor Orban and US President Donald Trump, who said her conviction was a "very big deal".

And Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said "no-one who cares about democracy can rejoice at a sentence that... deprives millions of citizens of representation".

On top of the ban on running for public office, Le Pen was also handed a €100,000 (£82,635) fine and four-year prison sentence, of which two will be suspended.

This will not apply until the appeals process is exhausted, which could take several years.