Former US President Donald Trump claims Marine Le Pen’s conviction is “lawfare” perpetrated by “European Leftists.”
Donald Trump has accused the French political system of using lawfare against Marine Le Pen, and called on France to “free” her.
On Monday, a Paris court sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison and barred her from holding public office for five years, which would prevent her from running in the 2027 presidential election.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump called Le Pen a victim of a “witch hunt.” He stated that her prosecution was the work of “European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech and censor their Political Opponent.”
“It is the same ‘playbook’ that was used against me by a group of Lunatics and Losers, like Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, and Lisa Monaco,” he said, referencing attorneys involved in legal action against him. Trump maintains those proceedings were politically motivated.
Although Trump said he didn’t know Le Pen or the details of her case, which he thought involved a “bookkeeping” error, he admired her strength. He finished by saying, “It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!”
Le Pen and other leaders of her National Rally (RN) party were found guilty of misusing EU funds meant for European Parliament members for party activities. The offenses took place between 2004 and 2016, when she led RN.
Several foreign political leaders have criticized the ruling as damaging to French democracy. Trump had previously called it “a very big deal.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni argued that the sentence “takes away representation from millions of citizens,” while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban showed his support for Le Pen by posting “Je suis Marine!”
Le Pen described the ruling as “political,” saying that a “lower court judge” was preventing French voters from supporting their chosen presidential candidate.