FRENCH DEEP STATE ALIVE AND WELL AFTER LAWFARE STRIKE AGAINST LE PEN

Putin pawn prevented from becoming queen?

It is open to debate how compromised Marine Le Pen is, but it is fair to say that she has long been the candidate that Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin would prefer to win the French Presidential election (the next one is in 2027).

Not only would her victory lead to France backing out of its support for Ukraine, but it would also threaten France's network of alliances in NATO and the EU, leaving the rest of Europe much weaker in the face of Russian aggression.

It is therefore interesting to see how what appears to be the French Deep State has managed to cut her off at the knees by banning her from running for public office for five years and giving her a four-year prison sentence (two years suspended and two years to be served with a tag, rather than in custody). Le Pen expected a "guilty" verdict but was reportedly surprised by the sentence.

The actual charges "embezzling" European funds to finance her party, are highly questionable and could probably be levelled at almost any other political party. They rely on technicalities of accounting and are a classic piece of "lawfare," especially in the sentence handed down, which clearly interferes with the democratic choices of millions of French voters.

The point of all this is to politically hamstring Le Pen and discredit her party in the eyes of the voters.

But what this really shows is that the French Deep State is much more potent and willing to act than its feeble American counterpart, which proved to be powerless to prevent the Putinist candidate Donald Trump triumphing in last year's US Presidential election.

But might this move backfire? Removing Le Pen from the National Rally ticket opens up the way for the party's rising star Jordan Bardella to be put on the ticket. He might perform much better than the now aging Marine Le Pen.

If so, might that be part of the plan, with Bardella being the "safe" National Rally candidate, from the point of view of the French Deep State? Is he in fact someone who is on board with the long-term interests of France's elites?