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President Donald Trump has called for the release of French opposition leader Marine Le Pen, who was recently convicted of embezzling European Union funds and barred from holding public office for five years.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, Marine Le Pen, is the prominent leader of France’s far-right National Rally (formerly the National Front), and was recently found guilty by a Paris court of embezzling European Union funds during her time as a Member of the European Parliament. Le Pen was accused of diverting more than €4 million in EU money intended for legitimate parliamentary assistants to instead pay party staff who worked exclusively for the National Rally. The court ruled that this constituted a “serious and lasting attack on the rules of democratic life,” and sentenced her to four years in prison—two of which are suspended, while the remaining two will be served under house arrest using an electronic monitoring device. In addition, she was fined €100,000 and immediately barred from holding public office for five years, effectively removing her from the 2027 presidential election, where she had been the frontrunner.
What’s going on now: Roughly one day after a French judge handed down Le Pen’s sentence, President Donald Trump has come out in her defense, calling the conviction a blatant case of politically motivated persecution. Posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “FREE MARINE LE PEN,” and labeled the court’s decision “another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going so far as to put that Opponent in prison.”
He added, “She suffered losses, but kept on going, and now, just before what would be a Big Victory, they get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about – Sounds like a ‘bookkeeping’ error to me.” Drawing a comparison to his own legal battles, Trump said the case “sounds very much like this country,” and described it as part of the same “playbook” used against him by what he called “a group of Lunatics and Losers.”
Le Pen has called the verdict “a political ruling that violates the rule of law.”
This comes as the political fallout in France has been intense. The verdict has sparked outrage from National Rally supporters and other figures across the political spectrum, many of whom are accusing the judiciary of orchestrating a “political assassination.” The judge who presided over the case, Bénédicte de Perthuis, has since been placed under full-time security protection following threats made against her and the court.
French President Emmanuel Macron, while not directly commenting on the case’s specifics, appeared to defend the legal process and France’s democratic institutions. In a broader critique aimed at rising populist threats, Macron stated, “We must remain vigilant against those who seek to destabilize our institutions under the guise of patriotism.” Internationally, the reaction has been polarized.
World reactions: Some world leaders have come out in support of Le Pen. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posted, “Je suis Marine!” while Dutch leader Geert Wilders declared, “I trust she will win the appeal and become president of France.” Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the ruling “a declaration of war by Brussels” and expressed hope that Le Pen would overturn the decision and “return stronger.” Daniel Freund, chair of the EU Parliament’s anti-corruption group, supported the verdict, saying, “The French judiciary shows that the rule of law applies to everyone, regardless of polling numbers.”
