The banks, the courts, parliament, the EU Parliament have for many years attempted to destroy Marine Le Pen. Is there some collusion? Is Deep State at work here? Whoever is behind the constant persecution does not have the best interests of France in mind.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation
Jonathon Gatehouse · CBC News 
Leader of France's far-right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment as it probes her posting of graphic images of Islamic State executions on social media. (Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)
Le Pen probe
A French court has ordered far-right leader Marine Le Pen to undergo a psychiatric assessment as it probes her decision to publish graphic images of Islamic State executions on social media.
The 50-year-old head of the National Front — recently rebranded as the National Rally — posted three gruesome photos on Twitter in December 2015 after a journalist told a French television program that her party shared a "community of spirit" with the extremist group.
"ISIS is THIS," Le Pen wrote in an outraged response to the accusation, attaching pictures of a man being burned alive, another being run over by a tank, and the headless corpse of American journalist James Foley.
French law prohibits the dissemination of "violent messages that incite terrorism or … seriously harm human dignity."
Le Pen, a former member of the European Parliament, was only put under formal investigation in March after that body voted to strip her of immunity as part of an unrelated fraud investigation. If convicted, she faces up to three years in jail and a fine of €75,000.
Today, Le Pen reacted angrily to the court's assessment order, posting a photo of the legal papers on her Twitter account and calling the decision "crazy."
Later, speaking to reporters, she suggested that the evaluation is part of a wider attempt to silence her and the party, and said that she will skip the tests.
"I'd like to see how the judge would try and force me do it," Le Pen said.
Legal experts were quick to point out that such an assessment is in fact required under the law to establish whether she suffers from any mental illness that might have diminished her capacity to understand what she was doing when she posted the images. The psychiatrist will also determine whether she poses a risk to herself or the public.
It's pretty obvious she was angrily responding to an imbecilic media person and not trying to influence anyone to commit terrorism. A sane person would think just the opposite, that she is trying to reduce terrorism by revealing just how horrific it is.
Nevertheless, I think she should take the psyche exam as long as it is not with a government or court-appointed psychiatrist, but one of impeccable character. I also think the interview should be recorded and reviewed by a panel of reputable psychiatrists, at Le Pen's discretion.
Other European populists were quick to leap to her defence.
"A court orders a psychiatric assessment for Marine Le Pen. Words fail me! Solidarity with her and with the French who love freedom!" said Matteo Salvini, Italy's interior minister and leader of the far-right League party, in a statement.
The National Front/Rally and its leader have suffered a number of setbacks since Emmanuel Macron resoundingly defeated Le Pen in the run-off election for France's presidency in 2017.
The campaign posters of French presidential election candidates Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron are seen in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, in April 2017. Macron resoundingly defeated Le Pen in the run-off election for France's presidency. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
French banks, which had denied her requests for campaign loans, closed her personal and party accounts last fall. Le Pen denounced the moves as political "persecution."
And she has been ordered to repay almost 300,000 euros ($455,000 Cdn) to the European Parliament after an internal investigation determined that she improperly used her office budget to pay aides to do non-parliamentary work for the National Front.
Le Pen, who maintains that she did nothing wrong, is appealing the findings and has refused to pay up. But the EU has been playing hardball, garnishing her salary and obtaining a temporary order from a French court to stop her party from receiving €2.35 million in state subsidies.
The EU parliament is far-left in ideology with many in the pocket of George Soros, and it will do all that it legally can (not morally can) to destroy Le Pen and her chances of becoming France's next President. Liberal loonies are also watching the EU lean more and more to the right and are desperate to stop the rush of sanity.
Liberals hate populism. They are quite sure that they know far better than ordinary people what those people want and need.
"The investigating judges are applying a death sentence by confiscating our public grant," she complained in July.
A final decision will handed down Sept. 26.
Le Pen has been busy trying to turn all those controversies to her advantage and whip up public sympathy.
"Our political adversaries want us to fail," she told a rally in the the northern town of Hénin-Beaumont earlier this month. "And when I hear the president of the Republic say that the National Rally is not a political opponent but an enemy, I can only conclude that he is doing everything within his power to break us down, to make us disappear from the country's political life."
And Le Pen is already campaigning for next spring's European elections, trying to form alliances with other far-right parties and tap into "The Movement," a new Steve Bannon-organized venture to raise funds and support for European populists.
Le Pen and former U.S. President Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon give a joint press conference during the National Rally's annual congress on March 10 in Lille, north of France. (Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images)
The strategy may be working.
As Macron's popularity plummets amidst the scandal over his former bodyguard's physical assault of anti-government protesters, Le Pen's fortunes are rising.
A poll last month put the National Rally "coude à coude" with the president's En Marche party, both with 21 per cent support for the coming European vote.
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