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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is barred from seeking public office for embezzlement (apnews.com)

submitted 1 week ago by Carcharodonna@hexbear.net to c/europe@hexbear.net

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[–] Pili@hexbear.net 16 points 1 week ago

I'll share a little trivia fact.

In France, to be able to run for presidency, you have to collect 500 sponsorships from elected people (mayors, MPs, etc...). In the last presidential election, Le Pen had A LOT of difficulties getting those sponsorships and it was widely expected that she wouldn't have them before the deadline. So, François Bayrou, the centrist politician who is currently our prime minister appointed by Macron, decided to tell the elected officials from his party to sponsor her until she reaches the 500 threshold because "it wouldn't be democratic is that very popular far-right person wouldn't be able to run". It's thanks to him that she was able to run and reach the second round of the election, and give Macron an easy win because of the mass of people voting for him only to prevent fascism from winning.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if our centrists tried to save her ass again.