President Donald Trump weighed in on the news that Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Rally Party, has been barred from holding public office for five years following a conviction for embezzlement, calling the situation a “very big deal” and drawing parallels to what he sees happening in the United States.
“A lot of people thought she wasn’t going to be convicted of anything,” Trump told reporters Monday, according to The Hill. “I don’t know if it means conviction, but she was banned for running for five years, and she was the leading candidate. That sounds like this country, it sounds very much like this country.”
A court in Paris handed down the verdict Monday, finding Le Pen guilty of misusing funds allocated by the European Union Parliament. As a result, she is now legally disqualified from running for office for the next five years, a ruling that could block her from seeking the French presidency in the 2027 race.
The case centered on allegations that Le Pen and 24 of her party colleagues had redirected EU parliamentary funds—intended for official aides—to compensate National Rally party workers instead, over a period stretching from 2004 to 2016. Le Pen, who ran for the French presidency in 2022, has announced plans to appeal the decision. While she hopes the legal process will conclude before the next presidential election, she remains barred from campaigning unless the conviction is overturned.
Speaking Monday in an interview with TF1, Le Pen questioned the impartiality of the court’s decision. “If the ruling is not a political decision, I don’t know what is.”
She also addressed her supporters directly, saying, “There are millions of French people who believe in me, millions of French people who trust me. For 30 years I’ve been fighting for you, and for 30 years I’ve been fighting against injustice, so I’m going to continue fighting.”
The verdict drew criticism from several of Le Pen’s far-right allies across Europe. Among them were Dutch politician Geert Wilders and Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, both of whom expressed opposition to the ruling.
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