France's National Rally leader Jordan Bardella refused on Tuesday to run for president in the next election, which should take place in 2027. The party's preferred candidate and former leader, Marine Le Pen, was convicted of embezzlement yesterday and barred from running for office for five years.

Bardella told Europe 1 he "follows Le Pen with absolute loyalty" in her effort to overturn the verdict. "The least I can do is to continue the fight with her until the end," he said. He slammed the court's decision as "disproportionate, political and partisan" and aimed at taking Le Pen, who had a strong lead in the polls, out of the presidential race.