March 31, 2025 - 4:40pm
The conviction of Marine Le Pen is the latest stage of Europe’s “descent into the abyss of totalitarianism”, according to former Greece finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. Earlier today, the Rassemblement National parliamentary leader was found guilty of embezzling European Union funds, and is set to be banned from running for public office for five years.
Varoufakis told UnHerd that the charges against Le Pen were “laughable and ludicrous”, and that to make them “a jailable offence and also a reason to bar her from running in the presidential election” was “mindboggling”. He added: “It really worries me that the liberal establishment is doing its utmost to strengthen the appeal of the neofascist Right in Europe […] Either the law applies to everyone or it applies to no one.”
The economist has previously criticised the electoral ban of Romania’s Right-wing presidential frontrunner, Cǎlin Georgescu, labelling the decision “preposterous”. Today he compared that ban with the RN politician’s conviction, stating: “The Romanian case was the dress rehearsal. Now, they’ve moved on to Le Pen. Tomorrow, they’ll go after Jean-Luc Mélenchon.”
Another point of comparison for Varoufakis was the ongoing political crisis in Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s imprisonment of his main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Ímamoğlu, has provoked widespread protests against the government. Erdoğan is “laughing his head off as he’s watching this descent into the abyss of totalitarianism by the European Union,” Varoufakis said today, “because how can they disabuse him of what he has done, which is exactly the same?”
Like Ímamoğlu, Le Pen has consistently polled as the most likely winner of the next presidential election. Even her political rivals have condemned today’s verdict, with Éric Coquerel of the Left-wing La France Insoumise saying: “I don’t agree that things that should be decided by the ballot box are decided by the courts. It will only paint the National Rally as a victim.” Varoufakis agreed with this assessment, posting on social media this afternoon that “France’s neofascists will only benefit from this.”
Varoufakis stressed that “I think Le Pen is a fascist, personally. I’d like to see her be destroyed politically.” At the same time, in his view, lawfare “has been disproportionately waged against the outer Right, because the Left has disappeared”. The Greek politician compared Le Pen’s treatment to the means used by the Democratic Party against Donald Trump, only “the French are doing it in a more obvious, less defensible way than the American Democrats.”
Varoufakis, who attacked the attempted shutdown of the National Conservatism conference in Brussels last year as “farcical authoritarianism”, highlighted a 2016 guilty verdict for Christine Lagarde on similar charges to Le Pen, also in a French court. She kept her job as head of the International Monetary Fund, and has since become president of the European Central Bank. “Nobody has made a peep about [her previous conviction],” Varoufakis observed today. “I have zero trust in the capacity of the judiciary to act as a judiciary, in France and more broadly.”
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SubscribeOn this point Varoufakis is absolutely correct. This is as clear-cut and naked a case of lawfare as you’ll find, and sets a very dangerous precedent. It will have the same effect as attempts to jail Trump in the US did. The neo-liberal elite in Paris may be laughing now, but this will be wiped from their face very soon, and they will have themselves to blame. The Eurocratic class needs to remember, democracy is never wrong – one cannot ‘massage’ it. It will bite back sooner or later.
They do it for the same reason Erdogan and Putin do it – because they know it works. Le Pen has stood in three French presidential elections, improving her party performance each time. She is the best known political opponent of the establishment. Her destruction intimidates others, and forces her party to select a less well established candidate, who might implode under pressure on the campaign trail. And if such a candidate proves more formidable than Le Pen, they too can be taken out.
Ciotti is planning to cash in . You’ll see.
All National Rally voters now understand that the real fascists are the ones calling Le Pen a “fascist.” I hope millions more in France see this too—they probably already do.
Pick any Western country: the most rabid, extreme fascists are the ones screaming “faaaascist!” into megaphones. This isn’t a minor point. Once enough people realise that the true fascists are the so-called ‘left’ (not actual liberals), that’s when revolution starts to become possible.
Rubbish. Politicians are above the law and that’s democracy. Forget it.
That’s what they said about Trump, and look what happened. The Democrats tried to stop him – they couldn’t.
People like Varoufakis, who teach gullible kids that anyone who isn’t a Marxist must, by definition, be a ‘fascist’, are themselves the root cause of the problem. If he was in power he wouldn’t hesitate to imprison his opponents. Don’t be fooled.
Maybe, but that doesn’t mean his comment regarding Le Pen is wrong.
Quite.
I have to disagree with you. Varoufakis has produced several articles for Unherd that have been thoughtful and thought-provoking, and while I wholeheartedly disagree with his political leanings, he has the integrity to speak up when people on the other side of the political spectrum are subjected to mendacious and anti-democratic lawfare.
The world needs more people at all points on the political spectrum to stand up for free speech, honest courts, and the functioning of democracy as a system or we’ll end up without them. And it’s a very long road back from there.
Give me a socialist who believes in democracy and knows what it is over a capitalist who doesn’t any day. Being able to switch regimes every four or five years without a civil war, have open debates and speak your mind is more important than short-term disagreements over taxation levels and who can use what toilet.
Meanwhile Christine Legarde, who was convicted of negligence by a person in position of public authority and the misuse of public funds when, as French Finance Minister, she authorised the payment of €404m to Bernard Tapie, escaped without any punishment at all, and is now President of the European Central Bank. That was literally one thousand times the amount at issue in the Le Pen case. They’re not even pretending to observe the democratic niceties any more. And if another RN candidate for the Presidency looks like they might win, they’ll block them too – after all they have the time and resources to do it, and can rely on the publicly funded media obediently reporting the “Far Right Leader convicted of Embezzlement” line.
Perhaps the ECB saw the guilty verdict as a plus.
She may, of course, be thoroughly guilty; it’s the inconsistency and hypocrisy that rankles and will encourage the right to more ‘direct action’.
Inconsistency and hypocrisy. The call-sign of 21st century western governments.
This could easily backfire on the French political establishment.
Liberal democracy’ has always been a pantomime clown show—suit-wearing actual fascists using the spectre of other ‘fascists’ to justify their own fascism.
Trump, Romania, Le Pen—the left-fascist quickening is now massively out in the open. A regime panicking as the walls crumble around them? Or the beginning of naked totalitarianism and mass prison camps for the non-compliant?
They’re just defending democracy, like those other great democracies: Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Venezuela do.
My faith evaporated many moons ago. I do admire Varoufakis for still having the vim and vigour to go out and argue most passionately against it all. Sometimes I might summon the energy to bang on about my favourite hobby horse, Ursula von der Leyen and the Pfizer texts but slowly I just can’t be bothered, it is pointless.
And this is probably exactly what the objective of the lawfare is: grind voters into meek and tired submission and neuter unfavourable opposition.
You simply cannot give up. That is the goal, as you state. I almost succumbed here in the US under the sock puppet and planned an exit strategy if Ms. Kamala got elected. But look at what happened! The dawning of a new golden age is upon us.
Lucky you. Meanwhile for us in Europe!
As the old adage has it: the process is the punishment.
A biggy for me also re her husband but as you say, “what’s the point”
Rather than grind voters into meek submission and neuter unfavourable opposition. I feel that this blatant lawfare and unnecessarily harsh judgement against Marine LePen will embolden her support. There is a groundswell of opinion in the wider French countryside that wants, and voted for change in the last presidential elections where her party garnered around 40% of the vote in the first round. Macron, and his political manouvering before the 2nd round denied these people the representation they voted for. This unfairly harsh judgement I’m sure will only serve to delay the inevitable. The will of the French people.
The comparison with Lagarde isn’t really equivalent, albeit whether she should be in any position of authority now v questionable too. Le Pen has been convicted of extensive embezzlement, not negligence.
Whilst she may claim some innocence the sense was she knew she’d be found guilty but didn’t expect the maximum sanction. She had also voted for the legislation under which she has been convicted, obviously never thinking she’d fall foul of it herself. She’s no shrinking violet here.
Nonetheless banning her from running altogether for 5yrs could well rebound and perhaps Macron finds a way to allow her to run?
Do you believe that Le Pen’s is an isolated case of embezzlement amongst EU politicians? I very much doubt it.
Others have been charged and convicted . Nothing special about the RN scandal. Ordinary sleaze. But does strongly suggest she’s neither smart nor solid enough to merit electoral trust fur President or dogcatcher.
She didn’t claim “some” innocence” as I understand it. She claimed innocence and only expected to be punished because it was a politically motivated process.
You must think the shoe could never flip to the other foot. The Global Left is extremely loose with money transfers so I guess we’ll see how you feel about this global trend in 10 years.
No need to take her seriously, she’s shown she doesn’t respect anyone else.
You make it sound as if Lagarde was convicted of forgetting to turn the lights off on her way out. She was tried for turning a blind eye to extensive corruption in her organization, over the course of months and years.
Her conviction for “negligence”, which was immediately swept under the rug, is what’s commonly known as ‘a slap on the wrist’.
The Le Pen case involved somewhat similar offenses. But a very different outcome. It’s lawfare, plain and simple.
My money says there will be revenge.
It’s a similar refrain to the Trump ‘convicted felon’ nonsense. His conviction on 43 counts was for writing ‘legal fees’ on his expenses 43 times….against payments to his lawyer!
After all the French public aren’t known for their rioting when they are confronted with something they don’t like are they
Now we wait to see what imaginative scam they come up with to ban the AfD in Germany.
And in the UK, we have the old mainstream parties colluding in the cancellation of the local elections, depriving 5.5m people of their vote. And it won’t stop there: next up, Farage and Reform UK. And perhaps Ofcom closing down GBN, Talk TV and any other broadcaster who has the temerity to stand up to the establishment. If parents who exercise their legitimate right to question their daughter’s school authority can be arrested (shockingly in front of their child), taken away and held overnight for questioning, no one is safe.
They were only held eight hours, but I take your point.
Maybe the de facto ban will be enough.
I’m politically some distance from Varoufakis but this is a prime example why he is always worth listening to. He’s his own man
There, and I thought it was the neofascist Left in Europe. Or perhaps it is more accurately the neofascist Establishment in Europe.
Those gravy trains don’t run themselves you know.
It is not difficult for a modern regulatory state to find a technical or process crime for which to prosecute anyone it finds inconvenient. As Stalin’s abhorrent secret police chief Beria is supposed to have said, “Find me the man and I’ll find you the crime.”
The liberals will find out one day, perhaps when a future RN President has Macron thrown in jail for corruption or treason, that’s what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Yanis Varoufakis’ and my politics could not be further apart but I have respected him for many years. He is one of those rare breed of ´conviction politicians’, who stand up for what they believe and fight for justice.
His book, “Adults in the Room” is a great insight into how the European bureaucracy really works and it is no surprise to me how le Pen and Georgescu have been appallingly treated. The whole charade is undemocratic and an example of how so-called liberals behave illiberally.
Varoufakis expressed a low opinion of Starmer when he became Labour Party leader and he was spot on. His description of the corrupt and crazy European energy pricing system is also worth a look as it sums up our dilemma in the UK very well.
Agree. Perhaps a little like Jeremy Corbyn (and arguably Nigel Farage) – someone who’s useful in opposition and asks the awkward questions, but who some of us wouldn’t want in government. Or – come to think of it – Marine le Pen ! Like them or not, these people are part of a healthy, functioning democracy and they represent widely held views which need to be heard and not ignored or silenced.
Second that. I’ve warmed to Yanis over the years, and although I abhor his political views, his defence of a figure like Le Pen against the lawfare being waged against her is to his great credit. Worthy of Voltaire: “I detest your opinions, but I will die for your right to express them”.
Democracy does not exist anymore as we knew it. Now if you put “democracy “ in Russia and Turkey along with “democracy” in Europe it is just laughable!! The UE has stolen European sovereignty, its independent decisions, is at war with farmers and the general public. How long will it take until all this break loose? We just cannot conform to their rules. Now with the digital euro what kind of world are we looking forward? Where is our liberty? Our freedom of speech? Our $? Governed by Elites, by Soros et al, we are already enslaved.
Often find Yanis experience worthwhile but here it’s clear he has no idea about French electoral law or anything else possibly pertinent. Not a favour to him to make that so obvious.
Nearly as nutty as those around Le Pen who pretend they’re above the law or should be. Not exactly a recommendation.
I think it’s the two tier justice aspect of this that’s the concern. We all know perfectly well that this sort of corruption is fairly widespread in French politics and has been for a very long time (Chirac, Sarkozy, Lagarde, amongst many).
If you think the quality of ‘ establishment’ political leaders is poor just take a serious look at the ‘populist’ ones.She’s not the worst and her policies are Labour ‘s , but people here in sensible rural France say she doesn’t pass the ‘liberty, equality, fraternity ‘ test.
Neither do the Muslims crowding into France.
Do you live in rural France to be able to pass credible judgement?
I couldn’t find a commentator who I disagree with more profoundly on nearly every topic, yet trust so much in his ability to think independently and not be a sock puppet. On this topic he is obviously right, and in general he is strongly anti authoritarian even though it’s his own side pushing the buttons, and I at least have to respect him for that.
I don’t think the Eurocrats are ‘his side’.
Fair enough Martin, I should have said ‘nominally left’.
I don’t see why it’s that ludicrous. Most countries do not allow convicted felons to run for public office (although the US does, obviously).
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
He won’t get that, obviously.
I’ve always taken the Le Pen family as neofascism, even if Bleu Marine say she is no longer her father’s daughter. So an unexpected benefit of left-liberal authoritarianism here might be to reboot with a young populism on the French nationalist Right.
Niece Marion-Marechal might have a stab at the leadership, but the young Bardella guy has a high profile so could use 2027 as his practice run. When the centrist wins and proves a historically weak president disabled again by the Left in parliament, then 2032 will look seriously promising for Bardella’s team.
Isn’t Europe supposed to be supporting Ukraine as a proxy war against Russian autocracy!!!
The EU is a bureaucratic oligarchy which enables the French jockey via the use of a civil service modelled on the French, to control the German horse and so regain national influence; the other countries are the trimmings. Prior to 1945 no country on the Continent combined stability, democracy and ability to undergo political change with minimal violence. Greece had a civil war between 1944 and 1947 which resulted in Greek communists murdering British soldiers in 1944.
The concept of the Divine Right of the Roman Emperor passed via the Roman Catholic Church to Charlemagne and the French monarchy. The concept of a of an absolute monarchy above the laws of the country passed onto the EEC bureaucracy and the the exercising of the droit administratif .
The first aws drafted in England were by Aethelbert ofKent which through the act of consultation combined the Bible and Anglo Saxon Tradition. Only between 1066 and 1100 was there no consulation ruler and ruled in order to achieve consent. At least Wlliam banned the sale of people.
The slow regaining of consulation between monarch and people re-started in 1100 with the Charter of Liberties which removed the worst of the Norman Forestry Laws adnd re- introduced the Laws of Edward the First. By AD1295 some 270 MPs, comprising knights and burgesses represented 4 M people in the House of Commons and voted on taxation.
By AD 1295 England had created a more representative form of government than that which exists today within the EU.
Before people use the word Fascist they should remember what Mussolini said ” Everything in the state, everything for the state, nothing against the state” Both Communist and Nazis are Fascists , the individual is sacrificed for the good of the state, only the collective is acceptable.
The corrupt European judiciary more and more reminds me of the French aristocracy just before the tumbrels began to carry loads of them to the guillotine.
Outright ban on AfD next. Europe is adopting Ukrainian ‘democracy’ as a model. Outlaw the opposition and cancel elections.