It looks like everything is falling into place for Marine Le Pen, France’s long-time populist leader. In September, she overtook embattled incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in the opinion polls, just as the country’s second wave of coronavirus cases began to crest. Not only has she maintained the lead, but she’s now been acquitted of hate speech charges, clearing another hurdle on her path to next April’s elections.
In fact, the court case against Le Pen was possibly the best boost her campaign could have had. Prosecutors had hauled her before a judge for posting graphic pictures online of ISIS atrocities, in what she claimed was a response to a journalist comparing her party, the National Rally, to the Islamist group. She and her legal team had branded the trial politically motivated and hailed the decision to throw out the charges as a victory for free expression. Her supporters will likely see it as yet more evidence that the state is seeking to shut down discussion in the name of religious harmony, in a country that has seen a spate of ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks in recent years.
