PARIS (AP) — PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier defended himself on Monday against suggestions he supports the far-right after he appeared to have liked a controversial video on social media.
Chevalier came under heavy criticism and was targeted with insults online by some internet users who spotted over the weekend that he had liked an old video of a former French conservative lawmaker saying that he would rather vote for the far-right National Rally than for the left-wing candidate at an election.
In a long message posted on Instagram after his club won 3-2 at Lyon to stay at the top of the Ligue 1 standings on Sunday, Chevalier said he did not share the political views expressed in the video.
“It’s depressing to know that while scrolling and accidentally liking a post without even realizing it, you wake up from your nap to get ready for the match and find out that your image has been dragged through the mud from top to bottom for an accidental action. It pisses me off,” the PSG goalkeeper wrote. ”But it’s certain that anyone who knows me knows very well that I’m someone whose parents and family have taught me values and respect, and that I would never allow myself to think such things."
“You tried to make me look like a fascist, and it’s not just me you targeted, but my entire family,” Chevalier added.
PSG signed Chevalier from Lille this summer on a five-year contract.
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Bayern's Joshua Kimmich, center, watches the ball besides PSG's Marquinhos, right, and PSG's goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, France, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PSG's goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier stands on the pitch prior to the start of the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Nice in Paris, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen returned to court Tuesday to appeal an embezzlement conviction, with her 2027 presidential ambitions hanging on the outcome of the case.
Le Pen, 57, is seeking to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. She was given a five-year ban from holding elected office, two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet, a further two-year suspended sentence and a 100,000-euro ($116,800) fine.
“I hope I'll be able to convince the judges of my innocence,” Le Pen told reporters Monday. “It’s a new court with new judges. The case will be reset, so to speak.”
The appeals trial is scheduled to last for five weeks, with a verdict expected at a later date.
She was seen as the potential front-runner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election until last year's ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics. Le Pen denounced it as “a democratic scandal.”
Her National Rally party has been coming out on top in opinion polls, and Le Pen alleged that the judicial system brought out “the nuclear bomb” to prevent her from becoming France’s president.
The appeal trial, involving Le Pen and 11 other defendants, is scheduled to last for five weeks. A panel of three judges at the appeals court in Paris is expected to announce its verdict at a later date, possibly before summer.
Several scenarios are possible, from acquittal to another conviction that may or may not bar her from running in 2027. She could also face an even tougher punishment if convicted anew — up to 10 years in prison and a 1-million euro ($1.17 million) fine.
In March, Le Pen and other party officials were convicted of using money intended for EU parliamentary assistants who instead had other duties between 2004 and 2016, in violation of EU rules. Some actually did work for the party, known as the National Front at the time, in French domestic politics, the court said.
In handing down the sentence, the judge said Le Pen was at the heart of a “system” set up to siphon off EU parliament funds — including to pay for her bodyguard and her chief of staff.
All suspects denied wrongdoing, and Le Pen argued the money was used in a legitimate way. The judge said Le Pen and the others did not enrich themselves personally.
The legal proceedings initially stemmed from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities.
The case and its fallout weigh heavily on Le Pen’s political future after more than a decade spent trying to bring the far right into France’s political mainstream. Since taking over the party from her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011, she has sought to shed its reputation for racism and antisemitism, changing its name, expelling her father in 2015 and softening both the party’s platform and her own public image.
That strategy has paid dividends. The National Rally is now the largest single political group in France’s lower house of parliament and has built a broad network of elected officials across the country.
Le Pen stepped down as party president in 2021 to focus on the presidential race, handing the role to Jordan Bardella, now 30.
If she is ultimately prevented from running in 2027, Bardella is widely expected to be her successor. His popularity has surged, particularly among younger voters, though some within the party have questioned his leadership.
Le Pen's potential conviction would be “deeply worrying for (France's) democracy,” Bardella said Monday in a New Year address.
Far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella speaks during his New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, is framed by Louis Aliot, left, and conservative lawmaker Eric Ciotti during National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
