Why the grim intimidation of the French justice system after Le Pen's conviction is a warning to us all
At the beginning of last week the far-right politician Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzling European Parliament funds and immediately banned from running for public office for five years, ruling her out of the 2027 presidential contest. Her party, Rassemblement National, yesterday held a public protest against the court's ruling. In between there have been all kinds of wild claims that this judicial decision was somehow undermining democracy. In this op-ed article, Mediapart's Antton Rouget and Ellen Salvi argue that these post-verdict attacks on the very idea of justice should not be taken lightly. Across the world, they say, the far-right is stepping up its attempts to tear down democratic checks and balances, and to challenge the rule of law.
FromFrom the conviction of Marine Le Pen on Monday March 31st to the rally of support held by her far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party in Paris on Sunday April 6th, the past week has seen an unprecedented surge in France's drift towards Trump-style politics. We have witnessed attacks on the judiciary, threats aimed at judges and early challenges to the legitimacy of the next presidential election in 2027. The rule of law has been intimidated with a force that should not be underestimated.
