Trump throws weight behind French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, calls her conviction a 'witch hunt'

Ahead of the Paris rally, United States President Donald Trump has offered support to former French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. 

 

On his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump wrote, "FREE MARINE LE PEN." He also dismissed the court's ruling against her as a "Witch Hunt of European Leftists." 

Also read | Who is Jordan Bardella? Focus shifts to Marine Le Pen's heir-apparent as her presidential hopes crashes

A four-year prison sentence was awarded to the leader of France's far-right National Rally (RN) party Le Pen after finding her guilty of embezzling European Union funds. France’s far-right called for a Paris rally in support of Le Pen. 

 

The political landscape of France's 2027 presidential election shifted with the latest court ruling, where Le Pen was considered a front-runner. 

 

"I don't know Marine Le Pen, but I do appreciate how hard she worked for so many years. She suffered losses but kept on going, and now, just before what would be a Big Victory, they get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about- Sounds like a 'bookkeeping' error to me," said Trump. 

 

Le Pen is facing a five-year ban on running for office with the latest ruling. 

 

Le Pen and her supporters accused the trial judges of interfering in democracy. The ruling is a "political decision" and the "rule of the law" had been completely violated," she said. 

 

Trump had compared Le Pen's situation to his own. The US president was indicted in the hush money case involving porn star Stormy Daniels.

 

Earlier this week, Elon Musk had also extended support to Le Pen. "When the radical left can't win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents." 

 

Previously too Trump has vocally defended far-right politicians in Europe. Recently, the Romanian far-right candidate Calin Georgescu's presidential election ban was also criticised by Trump. Following reports of Russian interference in Georgescu's campaign, the court ruled to re-run the election. 

 

 

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