The French judge who banned far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in the 2027 presidential election has been placed under police protection following a wave of death threats and online harassment.

Threats Against Judge Benedicte de Perthuis

Benedicte de Perthuis, the head of the three-judge panel that found Le Pen guilty of embezzling European Union funds and imposed a five-year ban on her seeking public office, became the target of threats after delivering the ruling on Monday. According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, her home address was shared online, prompting immediate security concerns.

According to Reuters, she is now receiving police protection at her home and workplace, while Paris police have launched an investigation into the threats. De Perthuis has also been targeted with social media attacks, with her photo circulating widely on X and far-right websites.

Macron Condemns Threats, Calls for Respect for Justice

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the issue for the first time during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, stressing the independence of France’s judiciary and condemning threats against judges as an attack on democracy.

“The threats made against judges are absolutely unbearable and intolerable,” Macron said, according to government spokeswoman Sophie Primas.

France’s judicial community has rallied behind de Perthuis, with Justice Minister GĂ©rald Darmanin and the High Council for the Judiciary publicly condemning the threats.

The backlash against de Perthuis has sparked debate in France over the growing populist distrust in the justice system. A recent Odoxa poll found that nearly 90% of Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) supporters believe the court treated her unfairly, while over half of the French public believe she received a fair trial.

FILE PHOTO: French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National – RN) party parliamentary group, attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, April 1, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

Le Pen Distances Herself from Violence, Pledges Appeal

Despite denouncing the court ruling as politically motivated, Le Pen has condemned the threats against de Perthuis and denied any role in inciting them. She vowed to fight the ruling through legal channels and appeal her conviction.

Her allies claim that the ruling is a deliberate attempt by the French establishment to eliminate her from the 2027 presidential race, where she was considered a frontrunner before Monday’s decision.

Concerns Over Judicial Independence and Rising Political Tensions

Christophe Soulard, head of the Court of Cassation, France’s highest judicial body, warned in an interview with Le Monde that the threats highlight a dangerous erosion of democratic norms.

“Attacking the judicial system is not only an attack on judges, but also on the foundations of our democracy,” Soulard said. “Judges today are being attacked personally, particularly on social media, which is a new phenomenon.”

The controversy surrounding Le Pen’s trial and its aftermath has drawn comparisons to judicial tensions in other democracies. In the United States, after former President Donald Trump called for a judge to be impeached, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts made a rare public statement defending judicial independence, emphasizing that legal appeals, not personal attacks, are the proper response to court rulings.