Paris, April 1 (IANS) Far-right leaders slammed the decision of the Paris court concerning Marine Le Pen, leader of National Rally, being banned from running in the 2027 presidential election.
A Paris court on Monday ruled that Le Pen, who has been a three-time presidential candidate, will be barred from running in the next presidential race following her conviction for embezzlement of European Union funds.
Le Pen, who was the frontrunner for the next election, received a four-year prison sentence with two years suspended, to be served under house arrest, and a €100,000 ($108,000) fine. Her party, National Rally, was also fined €2 million. The party denounced the trial as politically motivated, according to media reports.
In her first reaction to the verdict, Le Pen called the ruling a “political decision” aimed at preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election.
“It was a political decision that was made. The magistrate took it upon herself to implement the provisional execution of the ineligibility, to render my appeal on this matter useless in order to prevent me from standing and being elected President of the Republic,” said Le Pen in an interview clip shared by her on X.
“The rule of law has been completely violated by the decision that has been made. It prevents an effective remedy, it justifies provisional execution by the fact of defending oneself, and it applies the spirit of a law subsequent to the facts with which we are accused,” she wrote in an X post.
She stated she would not let herself be eliminated and would pursue all legal remedies. She assured to stand by the French people to defend them because she said that there are millions of French people who trust her.
Meanwhile, reacting to Le Pen’s conviction for fraud and ban on her running for office, US President Donald Trump compared it to his own legal battles.
“She was banned from running for five years, and she was the leading candidate. That sounds like this country, that sounds very much like this country,” Trump said, describing the court ruling as “a very big deal.”
US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stated that the exclusion of people from the political process is particularly concerning given the aggressive and corrupt lawfare also waged against President Trump in the United States.
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini denounced “a declaration of war by Brussels” as the source of Le Pen’s conviction.
“Those who fear the judgment of the voters are often reassured by the judgment of the courts. In Paris, they have condemned Marine Le Pen and would like to exclude her from political life. A bad film that we are also seeing in other countries like Romania,” said Salvini, leader of the far-right Lega party, in a statement.
Donald Trump Jr., the son of US President Donald Trump, also took to X to comment on the court decision.
“France is sending Le Pen to jail and barring her from running?! Are they just trying to prove J.D. Vance was right about everything?” he posted.
In a speech in Munich in February, Vice President Vance had lambasted European democracies for, he said, censoring free speech.
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders expressed shock at the court ruling against Le Pen, pledging his “100 per cent” support.
“I am shocked by the incredibly tough verdict against (Le Pen). I support and believe in her for the full 100 per cent, and I trust she will win the appeal and become President of France,” Wilders posted on X.
Russia condemned the French court’s decision to bar far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for office for five years, calling it a politically motivated attack on democratic norms.
“More and more European capitals are going down the path of violating democratic norms. We do not want to interfere in France’s internal affairs, and we have never done so,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“But our observation of European capitals shows that they do not shy away from stepping outside the bounds of democracy in the political process,” he added.
–IANS
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