The worst fears of the French far-Right were confirmed when its most recognisable leader, Marine Le Pen, was convicted of embezzlement of public funds and handed a five-year ban on running for political office by a Paris criminal court on March 31. The French presidential elections are due no later than April 2027, and Le Pen was a leading candidate. Le Pen has tried thrice to be president and failed, so this was probably her last chance.

Le Pen’s conviction refers to a period when she was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2017, and she was accused of hiring four fictitious assistants, including her own sister. Purely on the merits of the case, there is no doubt that Le Pen is guilty. But in the politically charged world of today, nothing that concerns the far-Right can ever be purely legal. So, the case has assumed political ramifications in France and elsewhere. Reactions to Le Pen’s conviction came thick and fast. The Kremlin’s spokesman accused European governments of violating democratic norms. Hungary’s Victor Orban said rather dramatically in French, “I am Marine!” Italy’s deputy prime minister (PM) spoke for the European far-Right when he said that the judgement was politically motivated. President Donald Trump called Le Pen’s conviction a “big deal”, saying she was the leading candidate before adding sarcastically that “it sounds like this........

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