Monday’s embezzlement conviction of Marine Le Pen, leader of the populist National Rally in France, extends the establishment lawfare campaign against the New Right across the Western world.

It is a problem not restricted to France but obvious from this side of the Atlantic Ocean, where President Donald Trump had the justice system weaponized against him, all the way to the eastern fringe of Europe. It is spreading an antidemocratic stain across the politics that we used to define by referring to it as free and is being spread, ironically, by those who frequently claim to be acting to save democracy from the forces of autocracy.

Le Pen was found guilty of improperly using European Union administrative funds to pay for political work by staff. This, she may well have done. Her punishment was to be sentenced to four years of imprisonment, although she will not actually be put behind bars and will instead merely wear an electronic bracelet for two years.

The sentence was, therefore, essentially notional, which exposes the purpose of the prosecution as clearly an effort to achieve the corollary, which is banning Le Pen from standing for election for the next five years. This pushes her past the 2027 presidential race, in which she is the front-runner. 

Paying staff with........

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