France's Le Pen asks protege Bardella to prepare for 2027 presidential run

Paris [France], June 26: France's far-right populist Marine Le Pen, who a court has barred from standing in elections, has called on her protege Jordan Bardella to prepare for a run in the 2027 presidential election.
"I accept that I cannot run. Jordan accepts that he must step in. I myself have asked him to think about it and prepare for this possibility," Le Pen told the newspaper Valeures Actuelles in an interview published on Wednesday.
This is the first time Le Pen herself has spoken of the possibility that the leader of the Rassemblement National (RN) party could run for president in her place. A court convicted Le Pen in early April for embezzling EU funds. The most controversial part of the sentence is that she is prevented from standing for election for five years.
Source: Qatar Tribune