Far-right leader Le Pen starts campaign, faces mixed reactions in France

A court ruling has allowed Le Pen to campaign despite embezzlement conviction, sparking heated debates across France.far-right leader Marine Le Pen has launched her presidential campaign in western France, the day after an appeals court enabled her to run despite confirming her conviction for embezzling European Union funds to pay party staff.The mood was mixed on Wednesday as she shook hands in the street market of the small town of La Fleche in the Loire Valley. Some jeered: “Give the money back!” and “Go to jail!”, while others chanted “Marine, president!” – a sign of the tensions that may lie ahead.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Europe’s hard right fractures over US-Israel war on Iranlist 2 of 3Is the tide turning on Europe’s hard-right populists?list 3 of 3Paris and Lyon prepare as Nice mayor opposes 2030 Olympics ice hockey venueend of listLe Pen, who at 57 has already run for president three times and is leading opinion polls for next year’s ⁠election, has seized her opportunity for another attempt to become modern France’s first far-right president, hoping voters will overlook her legal woes.“The aim of our campaign is to bring about France’s revival,” she said in La Fleche, pledging to revive sovereignty, justice, security and education. Hours earlier, her team had launched a campaign website with a picture of her holding out her arms, with the slogan: “For France, Revival.”Le Pen said La Fleche, a longtime left-wing bastion that in March elected a 25-year-old mayor from her anti-immigrant National Rally (RN), was symbolic of the party’s growing reach. Asked repeatedly about Tuesday’s verdict, she sounded irritated and told reporters, “I’m not going to spend my whole campaign analysing legal matters.”Meanwhile, supporters clamoured for selfies, which she readily gave.“Marine, you’re the best!” said one.The appeals court ordered Le Pen to wear an electronic ankle tag for a year that would have required her to return home from the campaign trail every night. Her announcement of ‌a final ⁠appeal to France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, had the effect of putting that order on hold.