French politics has been thrown into turmoil after hard-right leader Marine Le Pen was hit with a five-year ban on running for office.
The ruling, which stems from a scandal involving fake jobs at the European Parliament, has sparked outrage among her supporters and set off a wave of international reactions.
Le Pen Convicted in Fake Jobs Scandal
On Monday, Le Pen was found guilty of misusing EU parliamentary funds to pay assistants who were, in reality, working for her National Rally (RN) party in France.
As a result, she was sentenced to four years in prison—though she won’t actually serve time, as half of the sentence is suspended and the remainder will be carried out under electronic monitoring.
Le Pen, along with 23 other RN officials and assistants, was convicted in the case.
The ruling effectively bars her from pursuing her long-anticipated bid for the French presidency in 2027, a decision she has vowed to challenge.
Jordan Bardella Condemns ‘Tyranny of the Judges’
Le Pen’s protégé and current RN leader, Jordan Bardella, wasted no time in slamming the court’s decision.
In a fiery interview with French media, he declared that “everything will be done to prevent us from coming to power.”
Bardella went even further, calling the conviction “a death sentence for French democracy” and accusing the judiciary of political bias.
While he announced plans for a peaceful protest this weekend, he also distanced himself from reported death threats against the judges, condemning such personal attacks.
Global Right-Wing Leaders Rally Behind Le Pen
The ruling quickly became a lightning rod for right-wing politicians across Europe and beyond.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in from the White House, comparing Le Pen’s legal troubles to his own and calling it a “very important matter.”
“She was banned for five years, and she was the leading candidate.
That sounds like this country, that sounds very much like this country,” Trump said, drawing parallels to the legal battles that have loomed over his presidential campaign.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also criticized the ruling, arguing that it disenfranchises millions of voters in France and across the EU.
“No one who cares about democracy can rejoice at a sentence that targets the leader of a major party,” she told Il Messaggero.
Meloni’s deputy, Matteo Salvini, took an even stronger stance, calling the conviction “a declaration of war by Brussels.”
On social media, Salvini accused EU leaders like Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron of trying to eliminate political opponents through legal means.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also threw his support behind Le Pen, posting “Je suis Marine” in a nod to the famous “Je suis Charlie” campaign following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in 2015.
Russia Adds Its Voice to the Debate
Even Russia entered the conversation, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accusing European governments of “trampling over democratic norms.”
“We do not want to interfere in France’s internal affairs,” Peskov stated.
“But we are observing more and more cases where European capitals are willing to bypass democracy during the political process.”
French Prosecutors Insist There Was No Political Motive
Amid the heated backlash, one of France’s top public prosecutors, Remy Heitz, defended the ruling.
Heitz firmly rejected claims that the decision was politically motivated, emphasizing that the case was handled by “three independent, impartial judges.”
“Justice is not political,” he told RTL radio, maintaining that the ruling was purely legal rather than an attempt to block Le Pen’s political ambitions.
What’s Next for Le Pen and the RN?
With Le Pen vowing to fight the ban, the battle is far from over.
Her party, the National Rally, is rallying behind her, while Bardella and other allies are pushing back against what they see as an orchestrated effort to prevent their rise to power.
As protests loom and international voices continue to weigh in, one thing is clear: this legal ruling has ignited a political storm that will shape the landscape of French and European politics for years to come.