Marie Le Pen, the Far Right in Europe, and the American Political Trap

The political structures in Europe have responded to American interference in their domestic affairs, particularly through supporting far-right movements. These responses often involve removing key figures from the political scene to prevent them from gaining power, ultimately preventing American influence from gaining ground over European politics. What we are witnessing is effectively an open war. The United States appears to be working to ignite far-right movements across Europe in order to destabilize both European states and the European Union. The goal is to foster nationalist cleavages within and between European countries, weakening the continent’s unity.

This strategy is further complicated by Russia’s growing influence—bolstered by America -both along Europe’s borders after NATO’s weakening and within countries once part of the Soviet sphere. The U.S. has been strategically undermining Europe’s democratic credentials by pushing for forced interventions against the rise of far-right figures, all while offering verbal support for these movements. The democratic conundrum created by these far-right movements is a political trap set by the Americans, and it seems Europe is walking right into it.

One of the latest figures to be ensnared in this trap is Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Rally (RN). On April 1, 2025, she was handed a suspended sentence for embezzling European Union funds meant to finance her political party. The case is controversial, however, not just because of the embezzlement charges, but due to a key ruling in the judge’s decision. The judge barred Le Pen from running for office for the next five years. This decision would disqualify her from standing in France’s May 2027 presidential elections—an election in which she currently leads in the polls. Le Pen herself has described the ruling as a “political decision,” telling her Parliamentary group, “The system has brought out the nuclear bomb because we’re on the verge of winning” (Politico.eu, 01/04/25).

There is a chance for Le Pen to appeal, but the state is using court backlogs as an excuse for potential delays—possibly until after the election. RN spokesperson Laurent Jacobelli responded to this by saying, “We understand that the system is in turmoil, that it wants to prevent a candidate and voters from meeting… We can clearly see that there is a political will behind it, and that we are well beyond stating the law” (BBC, 01/04/25).

The American response to this situation has been swift. Both U.S. President Donald Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk slammed the French court’s decision, calling it politically motivated. Musk posted on X, “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.” Trump echoed similar sentiments, comparing Le Pen’s case to his own experiences in the U.S., saying, “I know all about it, and a lot of people thought she wasn’t going to be convicted of anything. I don’t know that it means conviction, but she was banned from running for five years, and she’s the leading candidate. That sounds like this country. That sounds very much like this country.”

Le Pen’s barring from the election follows a similar move in Romania, where far-right populist Calin Georgescu has been banned from running in the presidential rerun scheduled for May. The Romanian Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) cited Russian interference through social media, particularly on TikTok, as the reason for annulling Georgescu’s candidacy. The BEC stated that Georgescu’s campaign “violated the very obligation to defend democracy.” In response, Georgescu condemned the decision, claiming it was “a direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall! This is just the beginning. Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!” (Newsweek, 10/03/2025).

The American response to Georgescu’s disqualification was similarly harsh. Elon Musk called the decision “crazy,” having previously commented on Georgescu’s detention in February 2025: “They just arrested the person who won the most votes in the Romanian presidential election. This is messed up” (Newsweek, 10/03/2025).

Adding to this tension, U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized Romania’s annulment of its December 2024 elections, arguing that the ruling was based on “flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors.” Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025, Vance called the decision unjustified, warning of broader implications for democracy in Europe. “You can believe it’s wrong for Russia to buy social media advertisements to influence your elections; we certainly do. But if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.”

Vance also took aim at the EU, without naming him directly, for allegedly supporting Romania’s decision. He warned that if such decisions continue, “the very same thing could happen in Germany too.” His comments served as a cautionary tale about the potential erosion of European democracy under the guise of protecting it (Romania-Insider, 17/02/25).