Le Pen allies decry witch-hunt as prosecutors threaten presidential hopes

Allies of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen have accused the judiciary of a witch hunt and undue meddling in democracy after prosecutors requested she face an obligatory five-year ban from public office if convicted of misusing European Union funds.

The prosecutors' move to seek a "provisional execution" on the public office ban – a tough, rarely used tool that means the ban would stand irrespective of any appeal – casts doubt on Le Pen's chances of running in the 2027 presidential election.

Le Pen and co-accused members of her National Rally (RN) party deny using EU funds to pay party workers in France. They denounce the case as a politically motivated attempt to keep the RN from power.

"The goal is to attack a political opponent. It is a very violent attack on democracy. It's my political death that being requested," Le Pen told TF1 television on Friday, reacting to the prosecutors request.

Taking to social media, Le Pen posted: "It is my political death that is being demanded. My political survival will depend on whether this political death sentence is carried out, with provisional execution or not. That, I believe, is the aim of this operation, which has been launched by political opponents."

The furious response echoes the frequent attacks by US President-elect Donald Trump against the US judicial system over the legal woes he has faced since his first term.

Courts versus politicians

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