When state-appointed judges in a state court of law – not the electorate – decide who and who you cannot vote for you no longer live in a democracy.

US President Donald Trump has said the criminal prosecution of French opposition leader Marine Le Pen reminds him of his own legal battles under the administration of former President Joe Biden.

On Monday, Le Pen, the former leader of the conservative National Rally (RN) party, was sentenced to four years in prison, two of which will be suspended. The embattled anti-migrant politician was barred from holding public office for five years. The embezzlement conviction effectively bars her from the 2027 presidential race.

Asked by reporters in the Oval Office about the verdict, Trump replied, ’That’s a very big deal.’ 

‘I know all about it, and a lot of people thought she wasn’t going to be convicted of anything,’ he said.

‘But she was banned from running for five years, and she’s the leading candidate. That sounds very much like this country.’

Trump has often claimed that the court cases and investigations into his activities were part of a politically motivated ’witch hunt’ led by the Biden administration and the Democrats.

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce has said the prosecution of Le Pen is ’particularly concerning, given the aggressive and corrupt lawfare waged against President Trump here in the United States.’

According to the prosecutors, Le Pen siphoned off EU funds intended for her staff’s work in the European Parliament to fund the activities of her party in France. She denied any wrongdoing and called the verdict ’a fatal day for our democracy.’ 

Le Pen’s party holds the highest number of seats in the National Assembly. According to an Ifop poll published in Le Journal du Dimanche on Sunday, 34-37% of those surveyed said they plan to vote for Le Pen in 2027 – over 10 points more than her nearest rival, former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. Le Pen ran for president three times, finishing second in 2017 and 2022.

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce drew parallels between the case in France and the criminal prosecution of President Donald Trump under the Biden administration. 

‘We’ve got to do more as the West than just talk about democratic values. We must live them,’ Bruce said. 

‘Exclusion of people from the political process is particularly concerning, given the aggressive and corrupt lawfare waged against President Trump here in the United States.

We support the right of everyone to offer their views in the public square, agree or disagree,’ she added.

Bruce noted that, in his speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, Vice President J.D. Vance criticized Germany and other American allies in Europe for what he argued were attempts to restrict political competition.

‘Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There is no room for firewalls. You either uphold the principle or you don’t,’ Vance said. 

‘The ruling elites want to protect themselves’: Russia declares the agony of liberal democracy after Marine Le Pen’s sentence

RN President Jordan Bardella has accused the authorities of seeking to eliminate Le Pen from the 2027 election. ’They are depriving millions of voters of their choice and therefore of their freedom,’ he said.

Le Pen has run for president three times, placing second in 2017 and 2022. 

While far-right politician Marine Le Pen vowed to appeal the conviction, she was handed on Monday, the judge who presided over her case has faced a torrent of intimidating online reactions.

Bénédicte de Perthuis, who sentenced Le Pen was placed under police protection on Monday night over death threats she received, domestic press reported. The fiery fallout came her way as some took offence at what they claim is political revanchism.

After the verdict was issued, users on social media targeted de Perthuis, months after the Paris Public Prosecutor’s office launched a probe into death threats posted on the right-wing website Riposte Laïque under an article entitled “A Stalinist trial set up to ruin the RN.” At the time, one user called for “a 9 mm bullet in the back of the court president’s head.” TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

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