France’s establishment has weaponized its courts to eliminate conservative challenger Marine Le Pen from the 2027 presidential race.
A French court found Le Pen guilty of embezzlement and sentenced her to a five-year ban from public office and prison time.
The move conveniently sidelines her right before the next election despite polls showing she would win.
The Paris court sentenced National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen to four years in prison (two years suspended) and fined her 100,000 euros for allegedly misusing European Parliament funds.
Most critically, the court imposed a five-year ban on holding public office, which would prevent Le Pen from challenging for the presidency in 2027.
Recent surveys show her commanding a staggering 42% support in the race’s first round.
Le Pen immediately announced plans to appeal the verdict, which will delay enforcement of both the prison term and the fine.
However, the political timing of this case has raised serious questions about judicial interference in France’s political process, especially as Emmanuel Macron nears the end of his second and final term as president.
The case hinged on allegations that Le Pen and other National Rally members used European Parliament funds meant for assistants to pay party workers instead.
🚨BREAKING NEWS – MARINE LE PEN BARRED FROM RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT
A French court has confirmed after it found her guilty of misappropriating EU funds
This is pure lawfare from the establishment to stop her
Democracy in France is dead🇫🇷
There will be mass revolt 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8RwROTkk2Y— Basil the Great (@Basil_TGMD) March 31, 2025
While prosecutors painted this as systematic fraud involving 4.6 million euros over nearly 12 years, Le Pen’s supporters view the charges as politically motivated and designed to eliminate a threat to France’s establishment.
National Rally party president Jordan Bardella, who at 29 years old has emerged as Le Pen’s likely successor should she be forced to step down, expressed outrage at the verdict.
He declared that Le Pen had been “unjustly condemned” and added that French democracy had been “executed.”
International allies also rushed to Le Pen’s defense, recognizing the troubling precedent of using courts to eliminate political opposition.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the case a “bad film” and a “declaration of war by Brussels” against conservative political movements gaining strength across Europe.
The timing could not be more suspect. Le Pen has successfully transformed her party from the political fringe into a mainstream force appealing to young and blue-collar voters frustrated with France’s direction.
With Macron unable to run for a third term and Le Pen polling strongly, the establishment appears to have found a convenient judicial solution to their political problem.
France’s Constitutional Council is now expected to decide on the legality of immediately barring elected officials from running for office before appeals are exhausted.
The court could choose a shorter term of ineligibility or delay the ban during the appeal, potentially allowing Le Pen to still run in 2027.
Either way, millions in France and across Europe see this case as a desperate attempt by the ruling class to silence the growing movement that threatens its control.
