A French judge who barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in the 2027 presidential election is under police protection after facing death threats and having her home address shared online. Judge Benedicte de Perthuis, head of a three-judge panel that found Le Pen guilty of embezzling EU funds, received threats on social media with her photo plastered on far-right sites.
President Emmanuel Macron condemned the threats, calling them “unbearable and intolerable.” He praised France’s justice system as independent and its decisions must be respected. Nearly 90% of Le Pen’s supporters believe she was treated unfairly by the court, but over half of French people think she got a fair trial.
Le Pen has denied stoking the backlash against the judiciary and condemned the threats against de Perthuis. She plans to use legal means to overturn her sentence on appeal. The Le Pen ruling has highlighted concerns about the impact of populist discontent on France’s justice system, with some worrying that democracy is under threat.
In recent days, similar issues have emerged in other countries, such as the US, where judges are being attacked personally on social media.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/judge-who-barred-frances-le-pen-gets-police-protection-following-threats-2025-04-02