A French magistrate has said two Trump administration emissaries approached her seeking to lobby against an election ban on the far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Ms Le Pen (57) who leads the anti-immigration National Rally (RN), had been considered a lead contender for next year’s presidential election until her sentence. Ms Le Pen appealed alongside 10 of the 24 party members who were convicted last year. Ms Lafourcade, who is not involved in the Le Pen case, said she was troubled because this was not the type of conversation that “should happen with allies”. Ms Le Pen had attacked what she called a “tyranny of judges” who she said wanted to stop her running in a presidential race she said she could otherwise win.

Source: The Irish Times January 22, 2026 08:35 UTC