Donald Trump demands France 'Free Marine Le Pen' and brands her presidential election ban a 'witch hunt'

President Donald Trump has offered his enactment to French far-right person Marine Le Pen demanding she beryllium set 'free' while branding her prohibition from elective bureau a 'witch hunt'.

Le Pen, 56, connected Monday was convicted of creating fake jobs astatine the EU parliament and taking vantage of expenses to employment assistants who were really moving for her enactment successful France.

The matriarch of the hard-right National Rally (RN) enactment was barred from moving for bureau for 5 years and fixed a four-year situation sentence, though she volition not spell to jailhouse arsenic fractional of it was suspended and the remainder volition beryllium served with an physics tag.

In a station to his Truth Social account, Trump wrote: 'In The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is different illustration of European Leftists utilizing Lawfare to soundlessness Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this clip going truthful acold arsenic to enactment that Opponent successful prison.'

He went connected to adhd that portion helium doesn't cognize Le Pen personally helium does 'appreciate however hard she worked for truthful galore years'.

The station continued: 'She suffered losses, but kept connected going, and now, conscionable earlier what would beryllium a Big Victory, they get her connected a insignificant complaint that she astir apt knew thing astir – Sounds similar a 'bookkeeping' mistake to me. 

'It is each truthful atrocious for France, and the Great French People, nary substance what broadside they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!'

Monday's verdict was seen arsenic a hammer stroke to Le Pen's long-held hopes of ascending to the presidency successful 2027. 

She was besides ordered to wage a $100,000 good and her enactment was docked $2 cardinal - fractional of which indispensable beryllium paid definitively, portion the different fractional would beryllium demanded successful the lawsuit of a repetition offence.

Le Pen could entreaty her sentence. If her bid fails, she volition get a four-year situation condemnation - 2 of which were suspended and 2 to beryllium served nether location arrest.

Twenty-four people, including Le Pen, were convicted - each of them RN enactment officials oregon assistants. Only 1 suspect was acquitted of immoderate wrongdoing.

Le Pen said she volition appeal.

She argued the tribunal should not person made her ineligible to tally for bureau until each her chances astatine entreaty had been exhausted, and that by doing truthful it was wide the tribunal was aiming 'specifically to prevent' her from being elected president.

'If that's not a governmental decision, I don't cognize what is,' Le Pen said successful the TF1 interview.

She said the ruling marked a 'fateful time for our democracy' but vowed to support pursuing what she called the present 'admittedly narrow' way to the presidency.

'There are millions of French radical who judge successful me, millions of French radical who spot me,' she added. 

'For 30 years I've been warring for you, and for 30 years I've been warring against injustice, truthful I'm going to proceed fighting.'

She is allowed to support her spot successful the French Parliament.

Earlier this week, Trump compared himself to convicted French statesmanlike candidate, calling her prohibition from elective bureau a 'very large deal.'

'That's a large deal. That's a precise large deal,' Trump told reporters successful the Oval Office.

He expressed sympathy for Le Pen and said her concern 'sounds precise overmuch similar this country.'

'That's a large deal. That's a precise large deal,' Trump told reporters successful the Oval Office.

He expressed sympathy for Le Pen and said her concern 'sounds precise overmuch similar this country.'

'I cognize each astir it, and a batch of radical thought she wasn't going to beryllium convicted of thing and I don't cognize that it means condemnation but she was banned for moving for 5 years and she's the starring candidate. That sounds similar this country. That sounds precise overmuch similar this country,' helium added. 

Trump has agelong portrayed himself the unfortunate of a authorities 'witch hunt' and politically motivated prosecutions. 

The American president has been taxable to galore lawsuits from authorities and national governments:

• The authorities of New York convicted him successful 2024 of falsifying concern records related to hush wealth payments to big movie histrion Stormy Daniels but his sentencing was indefinitely postponed pursuing his 2nd predetermination to the presidency
• Before the November 2024, a national justice dismissed the national charges relating to Trump's handling of classified documents
• After Trump's election, the peculiar counsel decided to wantonness the national charges related to the 2020 election, citing the Justice Department argumentation of not prosecuting sitting presidents
• A lawsuit against successful Georgia is connected intermission portion the courts determine whether a state-level authoritative tin prosecute a sitting president 

He denied wrongdoing successful each the cases.

Other officials successful the Trump medication person echoed the president's stance connected Le Pen.

US Vice President JD Vance said yesterday that Le Pen was convicted of a precise insignificant discourtesy and barring her from moving for bureau was 'not democracy.'

'They're trying to propulsion her successful situation and propulsion her disconnected the ballot,' Vance said successful an interrogation with the Newsmax tv channel. 'Look, that's not democracy.'

He said Le Pen had been 'leading successful immoderate polls' for France's 2027 statesmanlike predetermination and had been convicted of an 'incredibly insignificant complaint that implicates, by the way, her staff, not adjacent Marine Le Pen herself.'

Trump's DOGE adviser Elon Musk also slammed the French court's decision, saying: 'When the extremist near can't triumph via antiauthoritarian vote, they maltreatment the ineligible strategy to jailhouse their opponents. This is their modular playbook passim the world.'

And State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the section was 'aware' of Le Pen's sentencing.

'Exclusion of radical from the governmental process is peculiarly concerning fixed the assertive and corrupt lawfare waged against President [Donald] Trump present successful the United States,' Bruce said.

But she declined to remark specifically connected Le Pen's case.

In the look of the wide disapproval of the verdict, 1 of France's apical 2 nationalist prosecutors denied determination was a governmental constituent to Monday's decision.

'Justice is not political, this is not a governmental determination but a ineligible one, delivered by 3 independent, impartial judges,' Remy Heitz told RTL vigor station.

It wasn't conscionable Trump who was captious of the verdict. Other blimpish leaders successful Europe blasted it.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the ruling against Le Pen disenfranchised millions of voters successful France and the EU. 

'I don't cognize the merits of the accusations against Marine Le Pen, oregon the reasons for specified a beardown decision,' Meloni, person of the Brothers of Italy party, told Il Messaggero.

'But I deliberation that nary 1 who cares astir ideology tin rejoice astatine a condemnation that targets the person of a large enactment and deprives millions of citizens of representation.'

Russia besides waded in. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov telling reporters: 'More and much European capitals are going down the way of trampling implicit antiauthoritarian norms. 

'Of course, we bash not privation to interfere successful France's interior affairs, we person ne'er done so.

'But successful general, our observations of European capitals amusement that they are not astatine each reluctant to spell beyond ideology during the governmental process.'