Latest news with #suisCharlie
Euronews
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Marine Le Pen turns to European law in bid to overturn ineligibility ruling
Marine Le Pen has submitted a request to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to examine the immediate application of the five-year ineligibility sentence she received after being found guilty in March of misusing public funds, an offence with estimated damages running into several million euros. The daughter of the far-right party's founder was sentenced to four years in prison, two of which are firm (but convertible into house arrest with an electronic tag), meaning she is unlikely to be incarcerated. She was also fined €100,000. In addition, the judge imposed a five-year ban from holding public office, which took immediate effect. Le Pen, who has announced she is appealing the ruling, has denounced the sentence as 'political' and 'unjust', criticising the immediate application of the ban as undemocratic. As it stands, she is barred from standing in the 2027 presidential election or even running as an MP if another snap parliamentary election were to be called. Being prevented from standing in upcoming elections represents a violation of human rights, the National Rally said in a statement. The party is calling for 'respect for the presumption of innocence' in Le Pen's case. Several like-minded political leaders, often critical of the European Union, have expressed their support for Le Pen: from former US President Donald Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro to Italy's Matteo Salvini and the Netherlands' Geert Wilders. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán even posted 'Je suis Marine' on social media platform X, a reference to the 'Je suis Charlie' slogan that emerged in solidarity with French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo after the 2015 Islamist terror attack that killed 12 people. The ECHR is now expected to open an investigation to assess the legality of the immediate enforcement of Le Pen's ineligibility sentence.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Far-right leaders rally around France's Le Pen after poll ban
Prominent European far-right and nationalist figures as well as Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Monday rallied around Marine Le Pen after a French court sentenced her to a five-year ban on running for office. Le Pen was convicted over a scheme to take advantage of European Parliament expenses to employ assistants who were actually working for her far-right party in France. Le Pen as well as the other officials from her party were banned from running for office, with the judge specifying that the sanction should come into force with immediate effect even if an appeal is lodged. Trump compared Le Pen's conviction to his own US legal battles, telling reporters Monday: "She was banned from running for five years and she was the leading candidate. That sounds like this country." Tesla's billionaire owner Elon Musk, who has backed a far-right party in Germany and plays a major role in Trump's administration, said the move would "backfire, like the legal attacks against President Trump". "Je suis Marine!" ("I'm Marine") Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orban posted in French on X, echoing the cry "Je suis Charlie" widely used to denounce a 2015 Islamist attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper in Paris. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the verdict reinforced the view that "more and more European capitals are going down the path of violating democratic norms". Former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, himself barred from office, said he hoped Le Pen would "overcome this persecution and be able to contest the next presidential elections" in 2027. On Monday, Le Pen received a four-year prison sentence for embezzling European parliament funds. Her lawyer said she will appeal. Le Pen will not serve time in prison. Two years of her sentence was suspended and the other two are to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet, the court ruled. Jordan Bardella, leader of Le Pen's National Rally (RN) party, said on X that French democracy was being "executed". - 'About politics' - Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders also voiced shock at "the incredibly tough verdict". "I support and believe in her for the full 100 percent and I trust she will win the appeal and become President of France," Wilders posted on X. Spain's far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal also offered his support, saying: "They will never succeed to silence the voice of the French people". Abascal hosted Le Pen, Orban and other far-right leaders in Madrid in February. Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said on X that "just like in my case, the verdict was not about the law -- it was about politics". Dodik was convicted in February for defying the international envoy tasked with overseeing the peace accords that ended Bosnia's civil war in the 1990s. Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) declined to comment when contacted by AFP. Le Pen's National Rally has distanced itself from the AfD after the German party was caught up in several controversies, including accusations of illicit ties to Russia and China. - 'Bad film... like Romania' - Italy's deputy prime minister and leader of the League party, Matteo Salvini, called the court's ruling a "declaration of war by Brussels". "A bad film that we are also seeing in other countries like Romania," wrote Salvini on social media. "We don't let ourselves be intimidated, we don't stop: full speed ahead my friend!" Far-right Romanian politician George Simion, who is running for president, said: "Targeting or annihilating your political opponent by any means is straight out of the instruction manual of totalitarian regimes". Romania's electoral bureau in early March rejected the candidacy of far-right politician Calin Georgescu for a re-run of presidential elections in May. The fierce EU and NATO critic shot to prominence in November, when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting before the constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a "massive" social media promotion. Georgescu, who denies any links to Moscow, has slammed the vote annulment as a "formalised coup d'etat". burs-jza/jfx/rsc
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Far-right leaders rally around France's Le Pen after election ban
Prominent far-right and nationalist figures on Monday rallied around Marine Le Pen after a court sentenced her to a five-year ban on running for office. "Je suis Marine!" or "I'm Marine," Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orban posted in French on X, in reference to the rallying cry "Je suis Charlie" widely used in support after the 2015 Islamist attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper in France. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the verdict reinforced the view put out by Moscow that "more and more European capitals are going down the path of violating democratic norms". Monday's court sentence declares Le Pen ineligible to stand for president in 2027 and gave her a four-year prison sentence -- half of it suspended -- for embezzlement of European parliament funds. Although her lawyer later said she will appeal the conviction, Le Pen supporters at home and abroad criticised Monday's ruling against her. - 'Shock' - Le Pen will not serve time in prison. Two years of her sentence was suspended and the other two are to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet, the court ruled. Including 56-year-old Le Pen, nine figures from her National Rally (RN) party were convicted over a scheme where they took advantage of European Parliament expenses to employ assistants who were actually working for the party. RN leader Jordan Bardella said on X that Le Pen, his mentor, was the victim of an "unjust" verdict and claimed that French democracy was being "executed". Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders also voiced shock at the ruling. "I am shocked by the incredibly tough verdict against (Le Pen). I support and believe in her for the full 100 percent and I trust she will win the appeal and become President of France," Wilders posted in English on X. Spain's far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal also offered his support, posting on X "They will never succeed to silence the voice of the French people". Abascal hosted Le Pen, Orban and other far right leaders in Madrid in February. Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said on X that "just like in my case, the verdict was not about the law -- it was about politics". Dodik was convicted last month for defying the international envoy tasked with overseeing the peace accords that ended Bosnia's civil war in the 1990s. - 'Like Romania' - Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the League party Matteo Salvini called the court's ruling a "declaration of war by Brussels". "A bad film that we are also seeing in other countries like Romania," wrote Salvini on social media. "We don't let ourselves be intimidated, we don't stop: full speed ahead my friend!" Romania's electoral bureau in early March rejected the candidacy of far-right politician Calin Georgescu for the re-run of presidential elections in May. The fierce EU and NATO critic shot to prominence last November, when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting before the constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a "massive" social media promotion. Georgescu, who denies any links to Moscow, has slammed the vote annulment as a "formalised coup d'etat" and the subsequent banning as "a direct blow to the heart of democracy". burs-jza/rmb
