Judge who sentenced Marine Le Pen under police protection amid online threats

While far-right politician Marine Le Pen vowed to appeal the conviction she was handed on Monday, the judge who presided over her case has faced a torrent of intimidating online reactions.

Bénédicte de Perthuis, the judge who sentenced Le Pen for embezzling EU funds and barred her from running in France's 2027 presidential election, was placed under police protection on Monday night over alleged death threats she received, domestic press reported.

The fiery fallout came her way as some took offence at what they claim is political revanchism — despite de Perthuis herself emphasising that the role of the court and her as a judge was to treat Le Pen's case like any other.

“Equality before the law is a pillar of democracy. Elected officials enjoy no impunity," said de Perthuis on Monday, before she issued a judgment, which she had worked on with two other high-profile judges.

On Monday Le Pen left the courtroom before her sentence was handed down, writing on X, "I'm told it's a judicial decision, but no, it's a political one."

Along with 24 other National Rally (RN) members, Le Pen was found guilty of a scheme using money intended for European Parliament aides to pay staff who worked for the party at its head office in France.

The parliamentary leader of the National Rally in France's National Assembly was handed a four-year prison sentence, with two of those years suspended and two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet. 

Threats of violence persist

Back in January, the Paris Public Prosecutor's office launched a probe into death threats posted on the far-right website Riposte Laïque — which have since been deleted — under an article entitled "A Stalinist trial set up to ruin the RN."

The threats followed the culmination of Le Pen's nine-week trial in November and were directed at de Perthuis, as well as prosecutors Louise Neyton and Nicolas Barret.

One user posted a comment which called for “a 9 mm bullet in the back of the court president's head.”

Another user named "Job" wrote, “I don't like that judge's face. Another leftie, a sh*t who wants to dictate their ideology. To be eliminated as soon as possible.”

After the verdict on Monday, users on social media again targeted de Perthuis.

"Benedicte de Perthuis, you dirty d*g, we got eyes on you," one menacing post on X said.

"Far-left fascist," "red judge" and "the face of shame" who "vandalised democracy" were some of the other claims X users made regarding the Paris judge.

A three-minute video narrated by a person wearing a black mask reminiscent of a Squid Game character, claimed de Perthuis was a "symbol of judiciary power which doesn't deliver justice anymore, but rather the politics of the system".

Another widely shared post contains a photo of De Perthuis and a caption claiming that the "judiciary was at the service of (French President) Emmanuel Macron."

Following the verdict, this and similar claims were shared in Facebook groups, many of which have nothing to do with politics, and instead are used by people interested in topics from local car-sharing to walking.

A number of accounts sharing claims about De Perthuis on X had AI-generated profile pictures, suggesting they could be bot accounts.

'Unacceptable in a democracy'

France's High Council of the Judiciary (Conseil Supérieur de la Magistrature) expressed its "concern over the virulent reactions" which came after Monday's judgement.

In a post on X, France's Justice Minister Gérard Darmanin branded the threats "unacceptable in a democracy" and "worrying for the independence of the judiciary".

Other politicians like Mathilde Pannot, president of the far-left France Unbowed Party, also said the situation was "unacceptable" and that the online threats were part of "far-right tactics".

Meanwhile, members of Marine Le Pen's Patriots for Europe party were quick to rally their support, with right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posting "Je suis Marine" on X shortly after the verdict was handed.

Le Pen has vowed to appeal her case "as soon as possible" and said she would use "whatever legal avenues" she could.