French democracy in question: Le Pen’s conviction shows judicial overreach, leftist bias

In a move startling from a republic that is the supposedly modern torchbearer of Liberté (Liberty), Égalité (Equality) et (and) Fraternité (Fraternity), the latest move smacks of a hatchet-job style dictatorship to fix the political arena. Albeit, it was a longish trial, with all the trappings of proper judicial examination and rigour. But is the judiciary in France, along with its now tottering government, infected with leftist bias?

Earlier this week, a Paris court judge that banned rightwing leader Marine Le Pen from contesting elections for five years acknowledged that the ‘embezzlement’ of €4 million of EU funds between 2004 and 2016 to pay staff in her National Rally party, rather than parliamentary aides, did not enrich her or her 24 co-defendants in their personal capacity.

The Paris Court judge described the diverted payments as a ‘democratic bypass’ that deceived both voters and the European Parliament, in what seems to many to be judicial overreach.

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Le Pen has been fined €100,000 and sentenced to four years in prison, two of which will be suspended, and the other two served under house arrest with electronic monitoring. But her ban from running for office is with immediate effect, even though she can continue to serve as a lawmaker till new elections are called for. If she is corrupt, how do these niceties work?

All but one of her co-defendants received suspended prison sentences of varying severity, also affecting their ability to participate in the political process going forward. Le Pen has vowed to appeal the rulings, calling the verdict ‘political death’ for her personally.

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Le Pen’s lawyers argued that the distinction between a politician’s work as a lawmaker and as a party member was artificial. Seeming to agree with this position, President Donald Trump said he had not expected a guilty verdict at all from the court proceedings.

But crucially, with Le Pen banned from contesting for five years, unless the appeal overturns her conviction, the focus has rapidly shifted to her protégé, the 29-year-old Jordan Bardella, who could well become the National Rally’s presidential candidate in 2027. He may be inexperienced, but Macron himself is still in his forties and began his rising political career much earlier. Bardella called the rulings an ‘execution’ of democracy on X.

Le Pen can contest the elections in 2032, when she will be 64.

The rampant but unproven suspicion from those who support Le Pen and her National Rally Party is that President Emmanuel Macron and his La Republique en Marche (LREM) may have worked behind the scenes to try and eliminate a formidable challenger from the fray. Marine Le Pen is the leader of the resurgent conservative movement in French politics.

Could such a partisan ruling on questionable charges happen in India? Well, it did. When the Allahabad High Court overturned Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s election, it resulted in the infamous Emergency. Of course, Indira Gandhi was the sitting prime minister at the time, with the entire machinery of government at her disposal. Nothing so dramatic has been tried by the judiciary since.

While Indian politics today routinely tolerates virulent opposition, any such move by the Indian courts against the opposition figures would certainly activate the anti-India lobbies in Europe, America, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, and amongst dissidents such as Islamic militants and Khalistanis. They would unleash a massive vilification campaign. They would howl for the blood of the ruling ‘Hindu Nationalist Party’ that is dominant in the National Democratic Alliance.

But surprisingly, little has surfaced by way of criticism in the European media against the bizarre Paris court ruling. Marine Le Pen is being supported, not by all the powers that are proxy fighting Russia in Ukraine, but by the other side.

From around the political universe, most conservative leaders have or are beginning to speak up in support.

Macron must have thought that with the confusion over Ukraine and beleaguered European support for its resistance, he could get away with this subversion of democracy at this time. However, many members of the French public, as per polls conducted after the verdict, see it in terms of the independence of the judiciary.

Will the French general elections in 2027, still two years away, be affected? The Russia-Ukraine War is expected to end well before that. America’s support for the Europeans in NATO has already weakened. Other international fora are also in retreat as America withdraws into its ‘America First’ stance. Can Macron’s France carry its own left-of-centre torch in European politics in 2027?

The public has been showing growing preference for Le Pen’s right-wing politics, with her finishing as runner-up to Macron as president in both 2017 and 2022. So, will this suspected skullduggery then work against Macron at the hustings?

Support for Le Pen came in promptly from Hungary and Russia after the rulings. Both condemned them as an attack on democracy. Victor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, expressed solidarity by posting ‘Je Suis Marine!’ The Russian spokesman said the ruling showed a growing tendency to subvert democratic impulses in Western Europe. Particularly those that were conservative and favoured better relations with Russia.

In addition, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk have all spoken up in disapproval of the attempt to ban Le Pen from contesting elections. India, which enjoys excellent relations with Emmanuel Macron-led France, particularly in the sphere of defence equipment, has been silent on this matter so far.

President Trump called the verdict ‘a big deal’ and said Le Pen was the leading contender. He also likened it to what was done to him in the lead-up to the 2024 elections in America. Others who have already spoken up in support of Le Pen are Italian League Party boss Matteo Salvini and Dutch populist Geert Wilders. Whatever the merits and demerits of the case, the timing of the sharp negative verdict raises more questions than it lays to rest about the state of democratic norms in France.

The writer is a Delhi-based political commentator. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.