Overview

• Marine Le Pen was convicted of misusing EU Parliament funds, resulting in a partly suspended prison sentence, a €100,000 fine, and a five-year ban from elections.
• French authorities detained a 76-year-old man for posting a death threat against the presiding judge, including a guillotine image, on social media.
• The head judge, Benedicte de Perthuis, and other judiciary members are under increased police protection following a series of threats since the verdict.
• Le Pen has denied wrongdoing, framing the conviction as a politically motivated attack, and has vowed to appeal in hopes of overturning her political ban before the 2027 presidential election.
• The case has sparked broader debates over judicial independence, with critics condemning attacks on the judiciary as undermining the rule of law.