In a blow to France’s far-right, Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for office for five years. The leader of the National Rally received a four-year prison sentence, two years of which were suspended, in addition to a €100,000 fine. Accused of embezzling EU funds, her hopes of becoming President in the immediate future have been dashed. But is the ruling an attack on far-right politics or a defence of democracy? And does the defanging of Le Pen and the NR provide a roadmap for other countries dealing with insurgent demagogues?

Emily Tamkin and Tom Hamilton discuss all this with Julien Hoez, a political expert and editor of The French Dispatch.

Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode:

• https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/19/trump-tariffs-trade-farmers-agriculture-economy/
• https://danieldrezner.substack.com/p/the-exorbitant-price-of-trumps-tariffs
• https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-supreme-court-elon-musk-81f71cdda271827ae281a77072a26bad

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