US President Donald Trump called the conviction of Marine Le Pen, leader of the parliamentary group of the French National Party, an example of a witch hunt and called for her release.
“The witch hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of the European left using the law as a weapon to stifle free speech and censor its political opponent, this time going so far as to throw the opponent in prison“, he wrote on the social network Truth Social.
The owner of the White House emphasized that he himself was subjected to similar political persecution.
“I do not know Marine Le Pen, but I appreciate how hard she has worked for so many years. She suffered defeats, but she kept going, and now, just before her possible victory, they have convicted her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about – to me it is an “accounting“ error,“, Trump wrote.
"All of this is so bad for France and the great French people, no matter whose side they are on in this case. Freedom for Marine Le Pen," the US president summed up.
On Monday, a French court sentenced Le Pen in a case involving her parliamentary aides to four years in prison, two of which she will have to wear an electronic bracelet (the remaining two years are suspended). The Paris court's verdict deprived her of the opportunity to run in the 2027 French presidential election. Le Pen herself called the court's decision political.