Trump demands France ‘free Marine Le Pen’
Donald Trump has demanded France “free” Marine Le Pen and labelled her ban from running for office a “witch hunt”.
The hard-Right leader was found guilty of embezzling EU funds to pay party staff in a court ruling in Paris on Monday.
She was barred from politics from five years – preventing her from running in the next French presidential election – and handed a four-year prison sentence, two of which will be served under house arrest and the other two will be suspended.
On Friday, the US president threw his support behind Le Pen, saying her conviction was “another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech”.
He likened the affair to his own experience being pursued and convicted in the US courts.
“The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is 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,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social account.
Continuing, he said he did not know Le Pen personally but that he appreciates “how hard she worked for so many years”.
“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,” Mr Trump said.
“It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!”
Earlier this week, Mr Trump compared himself to Le Pen, describing her ban from holding public office as a “very big deal” and likening it to his own experience with the courts.
The situation in France “sounds very much like this country” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Mr Trump has consistently presented himself as the target of a government-led “witch hunt” and politically driven prosecutions.
Alongside the political ban and the suspended prison sentence, Le Pen was also ordered to pay a $100,000 (£76,000) fine and her National Rally party was docked $2 million.
She has said she would appeal the ruling “as soon as possible” using “whatever legal avenues I can”, claiming it was a deliberate attempt to prevent her becoming president.
“For 30 years I’ve been fighting for you, and for 30 years I’ve been fighting against injustice, so I’m going to continue fighting,” she said after the sentencing.
Several officials within the Trump administration have expressed support for Marine Le Pen, including Elon Musk.
“When the radical Left can’t win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents. This is their standard playbook throughout the world,” Mr Musk said.
