A French court has sentenced a 76-year-old pensioner to an eight-month suspended prison term for issuing death threats against the judge who convicted far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
The man, a former IT company director, also received a €3,000 fine. A day after Le Pen’s conviction, he posted an image of a guillotine on the social network X, captioned: “That whore deserves this.”
During his trial, the pensioner, born in 1948 in French Algeria and living in Paris since the age of 14, attempted to convince the court that his post was not a direct threat to Judge Bénédicte de Perthuis. “For me, the guillotine is a symbol of justice. I wanted to say that some judges may deserve to be judged,” he explained, contrasting his calm demeanor in court with the vulgarity of his online remarks.
He defended his post by claiming he was angry and believed “everything can be said” on social media.
The prosecutor emphasized that such messages could encourage violence among unstable individuals. Meanwhile, the defense argued that the man’s post had minimal reach, noting it had only around 200 views at the time of the trial.
Marine Le Pen was sentenced on March 31 to four years in prison—two suspended and two under electronic surveillance—along with a €100,000 fine and a five-year ban from holding public office. The court found her guilty of embezzling public funds by misusing European Parliament money to pay staff members of her National Rally party between 2004 and 2016, totaling €4 million.
Since the verdict, judges involved in the case, including Bénédicte de Perthuis, have faced serious threats, prompting police protection for the judge.
