{"id":132214,"date":"2025-04-02T17:10:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T17:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/the-law-is-the-same-for-everyone-macron-addresses-le-pen-verdict-for-first-time-and-criticises-threats-against-judges-as-it-happened-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T17:10:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T17:10:47","slug":"the-law-is-the-same-for-everyone-macron-addresses-le-pen-verdict-for-first-time-and-criticises-threats-against-judges-as-it-happened-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/the-law-is-the-same-for-everyone-macron-addresses-le-pen-verdict-for-first-time-and-criticises-threats-against-judges-as-it-happened-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The law is the same for everyone\u2019: Macron addresses Le Pen verdict for first time and criticises threats against judges \u2013 as it happened – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

This live blog is now closed
French President Emmanuel Macron<\/strong> has commented for the first time since Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement and barred from running in France\u2019s next presidential election.
Opening a weekly meeting of French ministers, Macron addressed the court\u2019s decision by recalling the three things government spokesperson Sophie Primas said.
They were \u201cthat the judiciary is independent\u201d, \u201cthat the threats made against judges are absolutely unbearable and intolerable\u201d, and that \u201cthe law is the same for everyone\u201d, Politico<\/a> reports.
Macron also stated that \u201call defendants have the right to legal recourse,\u201d Primas said.<\/p>\n

We are now closing the blog. Here is a round-up of today\u2019s events.
Europe<\/strong> is braced for US president Donald Trump<\/a> to impose sweeping tariffs on global trading partners on Wednesday<\/a>, threatening cost increases and likely drawing retaliation from all sides. Details of Trump\u2019s tariff plans are due to be announced in the White House Rose Garden at 4 pm Eastern Time (10pm CET, 9pm BST).
Donald Trump\u2019s<\/strong> planned tariffs will be negative across the world,<\/a> with the damage depending on how far they go, how long they last and whether they lead to successful negotiations, European Central Bank<\/a> head Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.
The effect of US tariffs on <\/a>Italian <\/a><\/strong>companies will be massive <\/a>\u2013 with fashion, pharmaceuticals and the food industry the hardest hit, the head of national industry lobby Confindustria said on Wednesday.
Benedicte de Perthuis, the judge who barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen<\/strong> from running in France\u2019s 2027 presidential election is under police protection<\/a> after facing death threats, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
French President Emmanuel Macron<\/strong> said \u201cthat the threats made against judges are absolutely unbearable and intolerable<\/a>\u201d and that \u201cthe law is the same for everyone\u201d, Politico<\/a> reports. Macron also stated that \u201call defendants have the right to legal recourse.\u201d
European<\/strong> visitors to the UK<\/strong> will need a new online entry permit from Wednesday <\/a>as the British government shakes up longstanding travel rules. Travellers from Europe will now need a digital Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) permit.
Russian<\/strong> attacks damaged energy facilities in <\/a>Ukraine\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions<\/a>, President<\/strong> Zelenskyy<\/strong> said adding that Russia<\/strong> was intentionally attacking Ukrainian<\/strong> energy infrastructure and called on allies to mount pressure on Moscow to halt its invasion.
Russia\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that <\/a>Ukraine<\/a><\/strong> had attacked Russian energy facilities<\/a> twice during the past 24 hours. The Guardian could not verify the reported strikes.
The Kremlin<\/strong> said on Wednesday that a visit to the <\/a>US<\/a><\/strong> by President Vladimir Putin\u2019s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, was \u201cpossible\u201d<\/a>, and that contacts with the US were continuing.
Israeli<\/strong> prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> was due to visit Hungary<\/strong> on Wednesday defying an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued over allegations of war crimes in Gaza<\/a>.
Denmark\u2019s<\/strong> prime minister Mette Frederiksen began her three-day visit to Greenland<\/strong> on Wednesday for talks with the territory\u2019s incoming government<\/a>, following US President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/strong> repeated expressions of interest in controlling the Arctic island, Reuters reports.
President Emmanuel Macron<\/strong> convened key ministers and experts on Wednesday to discuss <\/a>Iran<\/a><\/strong>, including its nuclear programme, amid growing tensions between Tehran and US President Donald Trump<\/strong>, three diplomatic sources told Reuters.
Italy\u2019s <\/strong>interior ministry has written to police forces across the country to increase security at Tesla dealerships <\/a>after 17 of the electric cars made by Elon Musk\u2019s company were destroyed in a fire in Rome.
Nato<\/strong> allies have pledged $21.65bn (more than 20bn euros) in military support for <\/a>Ukraine<\/a><\/strong> in the first three months of the year<\/a>, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.
Norway <\/strong>will not withdraw from the global convention banning anti-personnel landmines as all the other European countries bordering <\/a>Russia<\/a><\/strong> have done<\/a>, the country\u2019s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Norway<\/strong> will not withdraw from the global convention banning anti-personnel landmines as all the other European countries bordering Russia<\/strong> have done, the country\u2019s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Finland on Tuesday said it planned to quit the 1997 Ottawa Convention as a way to mitigate the military threat posed by Russia, following Poland and the Baltic countries, which announced similar moves last month.
Norway\u2019s foreign minister Espen Barth Eide told Reuters: \u201cThis particular decision [by Finland] is something that we regret.
\u201cIf we start weakening our commitment, it makes it easier for warring factions around the world to use these weapons again, because it reduces the stigma.\u201d
He added: \u201cWe have a very modern advanced defence system. We have purchased extremely advanced systems that can attack from land, the air and sea.\u201d
Nato<\/strong> allies have pledged $21.65bn (more than 20bn euros) in military support for Ukraine<\/strong> in the first three months of the year, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.
Foreign ministers from the alliance meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss further support for Ukraine against Russia\u2019s three-year-old invasion.
French President Emmanuel Macron<\/strong> has commented for the first time since Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement and barred from running in France\u2019s next presidential election.
Opening a weekly meeting of French ministers, Macron addressed the court\u2019s decision by recalling the three things government spokesperson Sophie Primas said.
They were \u201cthat the judiciary is independent\u201d, \u201cthat the threats made against judges are absolutely unbearable and intolerable\u201d, and that \u201cthe law is the same for everyone\u201d, Politico<\/a> reports.
Macron also stated that \u201call defendants have the right to legal recourse,\u201d Primas said.<\/p>\n

Hungary<\/strong> has deployed soldiers and launched new disinfection measures to help contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in a northwestern area bordering Slovakia and Austria<\/strong>, the agriculture minister said on Wednesday.
Hungary reported its first case in more than 50 years of the disease, which often leads to trade restrictions, on a cattle farm early last month, Reuters reports.
Since then, neighbouring Slovakia has detected outbreaks at five locations after reporting its first cases in March. It has also stepped up measures to contain the disease\u2019s spread.
Hungarian agriculture minister Istvan Nagy said foot-and-mouth disease was found at two additional farms in Gyor-Moson-Sopron county by Wednesday morning, affecting 3,500 cattle.
Italy\u2019s interior ministry has written to police forces across the country to increase security at Tesla dealerships after 17 of the electric cars made by Elon Musk\u2019s company were destroyed in a fire in Rome.<\/strong>
Italy\u2019s state police anti-terrorism unit, Digos, is investigating whether the fire at the Tesla dealership in Torre Angela, a suburb in the east of the capital, was started by anarchists.
Firefighters worked for hours to put out the blaze in the early hours of Monday. Drone images showed a row of the burnt-out remains of the vehicles in a parking area of the dealership. Using his social media platform, X, Musk referred to it as \u201cterrorism\u201d.
There are 13 Tesla<\/a> dealerships in Italy, all managed by the parent company, the majority of them in Rome, but also in other cities including Florence and Milan.
An interior ministry source said the circular was aimed at \u201craising awareness\u201d of possible anti-Tesla protesters amid a global wave of vandalism in response to Musk\u2019s political activities in the US. If needed, surveillance of dealerships would be increased, it said.
French<\/strong> president Emmanuel Macron was convening key ministers and experts on Wednesday to discuss Iran<\/strong>, including its nuclear programme, amid growing tensions between Tehran and US President Donald Trump<\/strong>, three diplomatic sources told Reuters.
Such a cabinet meeting dedicated to a specific subject is rare and highlights mounting concern among Washington\u2019s European allies that the United States and Israel could launch air strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities unless there is a quick negotiated deal on its nuclear programme.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has reinforced US military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, amid a US bombing campaign against the Houthis who control much of Yemen and are supported by Iran.
A senior European official said European strategists were asking themselves whether the campaign could be a precursor to a US strike on Iran in the coming months.<\/p>\n

Three Spanish<\/strong> citizens and one Australian<\/strong> have been detained attempting to reach the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Wednesday, citing a source.
The outsized role of the United States<\/strong> in the global economy means that economic policy moves there can influence economic decisions in Europe<\/strong>, European Central Bank<\/a> board member Isabel Schnabel said on Wednesday in Paris.
The judge who barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen<\/strong> from running in France\u2019s 2027 presidential election is under police protection after facing death threats, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Benedicte de Perthuis – the head of a three-judge panel that found Le Pen guilty of embezzling EU funds and handed her a five-year ban on seeking public office – is now receiving police protection at work and at home.
De Perthuis also received threats on social media, with her photo plastered all over X and far-right sites.
Paris police confirmed an investigation was underway into the threats, referring further queries to the Paris prosecutor\u2019s office, which did not respond.
Denmark\u2019s<\/strong> prime minister is visiting Greenland<\/strong> on Wednesday for talks with the territory\u2019s incoming government, following US President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/strong> repeated expressions of interest in controlling the Arctic island, Reuters reports.
Mette Frederiksen begins her three-day trip less than a week after a visit to the territory by US vice-president JD Vance received a frosty reception from authorities in Denmark and Greenland.
Greenland\u2019s incoming prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month\u2019s general election and will form a coalition government, has said he welcomes Frederiksen\u2018s trip, stating on Monday that Denmark remains \u201cGreenland\u2019s closest partner\u201d.
Nielsen told Reuters on Monday that Greenland would strengthen its ties with Denmark until it could fulfil its ultimate wish to become a sovereign nation.
Meanwhile, Greenland wishes to establish a respectful relationship with the United States, he said.
\u201cTalking about annexation and talking about acquiring Greenland and not respecting the sovereignty is not respectful, he said. \u201cSo let\u2019s start by being respectful to each other and build up a great partnership on everything.\u201d
The introduction of new US tariffs would hit Italian<\/strong> producers hard, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni<\/strong> said in Rome on Wednesday, adding that every effort should be made to avoid a trade war, Reuters reports.
Israeli<\/strong> prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> is due to visit Hungary<\/strong> today, defying an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
During the visit, which runs until Sunday, Netanyahu will meet his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orb\u00e1n, who invited him in November, soon after the ICC issued the arrest warrant.
Orb\u00e1n said at the time that the warrant would \u201cnot be observed\u201d.
All European Union member states, including Hungary, are members of the ICC, which means they are required to enforce its warrants.
Orb\u00e1n, a right-wing nationalist, has often been at odds with the EU over democratic standards and human rights in Hungary.
The Times of Israel reported a source as saying Netanyahu and Orb\u00e1n will discuss potential Hungarian support for US President Donald Trump\u2019s Gaza plan.
The Kremlin<\/strong> said on Wednesday that a visit to the US<\/strong> by President Vladimir Putin\u2019s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, was \u201cpossible\u201d, and that contacts with the US were continuing.
Reuters reported that Dmitriev is expected in Washington this week for talks with US President Donald Trump\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This live blog is now closedFrench President Emmanuel Macron has commented for the first time since Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement and barred from running in France\u2019s next presidential election.Opening a weekly meeting of French ministers, Macron addressed the court\u2019s decision by recalling the three things government spokesperson Sophie Primas said.They were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}