Bardella, France's National Rally president, set to run in 2027 if Le Pen cannot

FILE PHOTO: Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) political party, greets supporters at a rally in support of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen in Paris, France, April 6, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Jordan Bardella plans to be the French far-right National Rally's presidential candidate in 2027 if the party's leader Marine Le Pen remains barred from running, he told Le Parisien newspaper.

Le Pen, 56, who has run for president three times and was a front-runner for the election, was barred from seeking public office for five years after a court found her and some members of her party guilty in March of misappropriation of funds.