Banning Le Pen, playing with fire

Marine Le Pen leader of the right-wing National Rally (RN ), preparing for a fourth tilt at the French presidency in 2027 has been banned from standing for election for five years .

She's been found guilty for her role in siphoning off millions of euros in European Parliament funds and using it to fund RN ’s domestic political activities.

Le Pen stormed out of court before her full sentence could be read out.

The French people must decide who leads them, not the courts.

We all know where the most clear and pressing threats to European democracy are coming from right now from embattled elites who want to crush populist challengers, laws that hold ordinary people in contempt, and useful idiots who would rather cackle at their opponents’ downfall than stand on a point of democratic principle. Call me old-fashioned, but I think voters should get to choose and turf out their rulers. Apparently, that’s a fight Europeans need to have all over again. Tom Slater is editor of spiked. Follow him on X: @Tom_Slater.