A 70-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly issuing threats on X against Judge Bénédicte de Perthuis who ruled on the ineligibility sentence for French National Rally de facto leader Marine Le Pen.
The X user had posted a photograph of a guillotine on his X account along with: “What this bitch deserves”.
He was taken into custody on April 8 for allegedly issuing “death threats against a magistrate” and “contempt of a magistrate in the performance of their duties” at the offices of the Brigade for the Repression of Crime Against Persons, which is in charge of the investigation.
French media reported that, since the court’s deliberation regarding Le Pen on March 31, the judges involved, particularly de Perthuis, the president of the 11th Criminal Chamber of the Paris Court, have been subjected to a wave of aggressive threats on social media.
As a result, de Perthuis has been placed under police protection.
On the day of the verdict, a widely shared post on X relayed her identity and accused her, among other things, of “depriving the French of their right to vote”.
“There she is, this left-wing judge, Bénédicte de Perthuis, who is indirectly depriving the French of their right to vote. Do you prefer her as a brunette or a redhead?,” the arrested X user allegedly said.
Voilà c'est elle, cette juge gauchiste, Bénédicte de Perthuis, qui prive indirectement les français de leur droit de vote. Vous la préférez en châtain ou en rousse ? pic.twitter.com/VbsI2CqdGO
— bataille kahlenberg (@bataillekahlen1) March 31, 2025
This arrest came as Le Pen denounced what was called a “political decision” by de Perthuis, saying that the magistrate had wanted to “prevent [her] from standing and being elected in the presidential election”.
On April 6, National Rally supporters and leaders gathered in Paris in support of Le Pen.
Her trial verdict has created turmoil in France, dividing public opinion between those in favour of the judgment and those against it.
France’s interior minister Bruno Retailleau cast doubt on the independence of magistrates in France, criticising their union.
During the French legislative elections, the Union of the Magistracy (Syndicat de la Magistrature) publicly opposed the rise of the National Rally.
In a statement released in June 2024, it wrote: “The Syndicat de la Magistrature calls on all magistrates, as well as everyone involved in the judicial system, to mobilise against the far-right’s accession to power.”
As Brussels Signal reported on April 8, the French Conservative news channels CNews and Europe 1 were under investigation for their coverage of Le Pen’s conviction.
French Conservative news channels CNews and Europe 1 are under investigation for their critical coverage of Marine Le Pen’s conviction. https://t.co/aY72B0VqKc
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 8, 2025
