US President Donald Trump has once again found himself at the center of a transatlantic controversy-this time, for his vocal defense of Marine Le Pen, the former leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party. Following Le Pen’s conviction on charges of embezzlement, Trump’s social media post demanding her release has drawn fierce criticism from French leaders, who see it as an unprecedented intrusion into France’s judicial and political affairs.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou responded sharply to Trump’s April 4 remarks on Truth Social, in which the US president declared Le Pen a victim of a “witch hunt” and wrote in all caps, “FREE MARINE LE PEN!” Trump suggested that Le Pen was being prosecuted not for criminal conduct, but for her political views-a claim that French authorities see as a direct attack on their legal institutions.

In an interview with Le Parisien published on April 5, Bayrou was asked whether he considered Trump’s statements to be a form of political interference. “Yes,” he replied plainly, “and interference has become the law of the world.” He went on to lament how modern globalized communication and ideological alliances have eroded national boundaries in political discourse.

“There are no longer any borders for major political debates,” Bayrou said. “What happens at home is relayed to Washington. And we are rightly moved by what is happening in Türkiye, for example,” he added, referring to the ongoing anti-government protests in Istanbul and other major Turkish cities.

On March 31, a Paris........

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