About this episode
The conviction of France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen for embezzling European Union funds came as a major blow to her, preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election race. Her party called the trial a 'witch hunt' and she accused the court of making a “political decision”, a sentiment shared by far-right politicians across the world. So, could Le Pen’s sentence strengthen far-right parties and benefit their leader’s popularity? And could she end up standing as president in any case? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guest: Peter Conradi, Europe Editor, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Producer: Edith Rousselot. Further reading: Jordan Bardella: immigrants’ son to French far-right poster boy Further listening: Young, French and voting hard-right How France’s left stopped a far-right surge Clips: AFP, France 24, Newsweek, TF1. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.