As part of the program Regional Initiative for combating disinformation “Western Balkans Combatting disinformation Center: Exposing malicious influences through fact-checking and Analytical Journalism“, we present you a new analysis of fake news and disinformation narratives.
While Marin Le Pen is being sentenced, the empire crushed by corruption rewards the dictator Ursula von der Leyen
Early April was marked by news about Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party in France. Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling funds from the European Parliament. In addition, she was fined €100,000 and banned from holding public office for the next five years, effectively preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election.
This sparked the usual anti-European narratives in Russian media. An illustrative example is an article published by Sputnik under the title: “While Marin Le Pen is being sentenced, the empire crushed by corruption rewards the dictator Ursula von der Leyen.” A Sputnik interviewee stated that the ban on political activity for undesirable politicians comes as no surprise, as the EU has never been known for its democratic character.
It is important to note that Marine Le Pen was found guilty of organized and systematic misuse of European funds during the period from 2004 to 2016, while she served as a Member of the European Parliament. According to the verdict of the Paris court, funds intended for the salaries of parliamentary assistants were used to finance her party’s activities—an act in direct violation of the European Union’s rules on the use of public funds.
Le Pen’s political party was fined two million euros for the unlawful handling of more than four million euros from the European Parliament’s budget. The Court of Appeal of Paris announced that three appeals have been filed against the ruling so far. A decision on these appeals is expected by mid-2026, and it remains uncertain whether the far-right leader’s legal team will manage to overturn the verdict and enable her candidacy in the next elections.
Pro-Russian actors, as usual, are using this situation to portray the convicted politician as a victim. However, it’s not only pro-Russian voices—figures from the European far-right have joined in as well. Among the first to speak out was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who posted “Je suis Marine” on his X profile, implying that all far-right leaders in Europe are under threat.
A Sputnik interviewee claims that corruption is an integral part of the EU’s structure and that the Union today represents an anachronistic semi-empire that has never truly fulfilled its potential. Alongside this, the article repeats familiar anti-European narratives about the colonial era. Authors often invoke issues from the distant past in order to spread fear among the public. One such claim is that people living in former colonial powers are under the illusion that they will always be protected at the center from the practices their countries once applied in the colonies—an illusion allegedly shattered by the example of France.
The article published by Sputnik is manipulative and inaccurate, as it presents the ruling against Marine Le Pen not as the result of a lengthy legal process based on concrete evidence, but as a supposed political vendetta by the EU. In doing so, it disregards the legal foundation of the verdict and builds a narrative of Brussels as an authoritarian center that eliminates political opponents.
The text relies on familiar anti-European tropes—portraying the EU as a corrupt entity, linking current events to its colonial past, and spreading claims of political persecution. This approach encourages distrust and uncertainty among readers, while far-right leaders are cast as victims of an oppressive system. Such rhetoric not only downplays serious criminal offenses but also promotes political cynicism and undermines trust in European institutions.
Author: Nataša Stanojević
