'Je suis Marine' Populists 'shocked' by court ruling

Nationalist and populist figures around the world, from Elon Musk to Viktor Orbán, have united in condemnation of a Paris court verdict barring Marine Le Pen from running in France's 2027 presidential elections.

- Jon Henley

In a ruling many believe could boost support for Le Pen's National Rally party, she was sentenced yesterday to four years' in jail - half suspended - and banned from running for public office for five years, for embezzlement of European parliament funds.

The RN's three-time presidential candidate, the frontrunner in many polls to succeed Emmanuel Macron in two years' time, has said she will appeal against the decision, but her allies at home and abroad hit out as soon as the verdict was announced.

In the US, where the vice-president, JD Vance, has attacked centrist European governments for "running in fear" of voters, Musk said: "When the radical left can't win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents. This is their standard playbook throughout the world." He added: "This will backfire, like the legal attacks against President Trump."