Marine Le Pen compares herself to Martin Luther King at a rally following corruption conviction

“I too have a dream”: Marine Le Pen invokes Martin Luther King after being convicted of corruption
Paris, France – The leader of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, sparked a controversial and media-intensive moment when she publicly compared herself to Martin Luther King, an icon of the civil rights movement in the United States, during a rally held in his defense after his conviction on corruption charges.

“I too have a dream: that of a free, sovereign France, protected from its internal and external enemies,” Le Pen declared to a crowd of supporters gathered in the Place de la République. “Justice may try to silence me, but as King said, the trampled truth will rise again.”

A conviction that shakes the French far right

The French courts convicted Le Pen this week of misuse of European public funds, related to fictitious consultant contracts while she was an MEP. Although she has announced she will appeal, the sentence represents a severe blow to her image as an “outsider” and defender of the interests of the French people.

Le Pen called the trial “political persecution” and vowed to continue fighting. “If you fight the system, the system fights you,” she said to applause and banners reading: “Marine is France.”

Divided reactions: Victim or political strategy?

Le Pen's speech generated a torrent of reactions. Left-wing leaders harshly criticized the comparison with Martin Luther King as an "offense to the memory of those who truly fought for justice."
Meanwhile, her supporters saw in her words a moving call to resist the "corrupt system of Brussels and Paris."

"We are not corrupt, we are persecuted," some protesters shouted.