Marine Le Pen Leads French Presidential Polls Despite Conviction

Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader of the National Rally party, is leading in French presidential election polls, according to two recent surveys. This comes despite an appeals court upholding a conviction for misusing European Union funds. Pollsters emphasize that these results reflect current voting intentions and are not predictions, as the first round of elections is not until April 18 next year.

Both the Ifop poll for LCI and Le Figaro, and the Toluna Harris Interactive poll for M6 and RTL, place Le Pen ahead in the first round. Ifop shows her with 36% of the vote, an increase from previous polls, with no opponent reaching 19%. She is also projected to win the second round on May 2.

In a hypothetical second-round matchup, Le Pen is predicted to defeat center-right former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe with 49% of the vote, according to Harris Interactive, within the margin of error. Against another former Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, she is projected to win 55% to 45%. Le Pen would also decisively defeat the left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Le Pen, 57, announced her candidacy after the court ruling, which reduced her electoral ban. She has appealed the sentence, and the Court of Cassation is expected to issue a final ruling before the elections. The conviction relates to the misuse of EU funds to pay party staff. Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure acknowledged Le Pen as a "formidable candidate," while many parties find her candidacy after the conviction shameful.

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Le Pen is a formidable candidate.