Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen' after far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement in 'witch hunt'

By Emma Soteriou

Donald Trump has demanded that France 'free Marine Le Pen' after the far-right leader was found guilty in an embezzlement case.

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Le Pen was given a four-year sentence and banned from running for public office for five years, meaning she cannot stand in the 2027 French presidential election.

She was also given a €100,000 (£82,635) fine.

Despite her sentence, the French far-right leader will not serve any time behind bars. Two years of the sentence were suspended and the other two will be spent with an electronic tag.

Le Pen and eight other people who were EU lawmakers at the time, along with 12 parliamentary assistants, were found guilty of embezzling funds to fund their French National Rally (RN) party.

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Reacting to the outcome on Friday, US President Donald Trump said it was the same "playbook" that was used against him.

"The witch hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of European leftists using lawfare to silence free speech, and censor their political opponent, this time going so far as to put that opponent in prison," Trump said on Truth Social.

"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.

"They spent the last nine years thinking of nothing else, and they FAILED, because the people of the United States realised that they were only corrupt lawyers and politicians.

"I don’t know Marine Le Pen, but 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.

"It is all so bad for France, and the great French People, no matter what side they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!"

It comes after he said earlier in the week that the ban against her holding public office was a "very big deal".

It "sounds very much like this country", he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Le Pen has said she intends to appeal the ruling "as soon as possible", using "whatever legal avenues" she can.

"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," she previously said.