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By Gabriel Stargardter
PARIS (Reuters) - The judge who barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in France's 2027 presidential election is under police protection after facing death threats and having her home address shared online, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The address of 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 - was shared online after she delivered her ruling on Monday, the source said. She 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 under way into the threats, referring further queries to the Paris prosecutor's office, which did not respond.
In a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron delivered his first comments since Le Pen's conviction, telling ministers that France's justice system is independent and its decisions must be respected as a pillar of democracy, according to government spokeswoman Sophie Primas.
"The threats made against judges are absolutely unbearable and intolerable," Macron said, according to Primas.
The threats against de Perthuis and other judicial officials involved in Le Pen's trial have prompted soul-searching in France about a current of populist discontent that is undermining faith in the country's justice system.
Nearly 90% of Le Pen's National Rally (RN) supporters believe the court treated her more harshly than other politicians, while over half of French people believe she got a fair trial, according to an Odoxa poll published on Monday.
LE PEN CONDEMNS THREATS
Before Monday's ruling Le Pen was the front-runner for the 2027 vote. She and her allies at home and abroad have accused the French establishment of sabotaging her presidential ambitions, saying judges have caused a democratic crisis by meddling in politics.
Le Pen has denied stoking a backlash against the judiciary, and has condemned the threats against de Perthuis. She has pledged to use legal means to overturn her sentence on appeal.
Christophe Soulard, the head of the Court of Cassation, France's highest judicial court, said in an interview with Le Monde published on Wednesday that the threats showed France's democracy has been weakened and was facing a "worrying moment".
"Attacking the judicial system is not only an attack on judges, but also on the foundations of our democracy," he said. "Judges today are being attacked personally, particularly on social media, which is a new phenomenon."
The Le Pen ruling and the threats against de Perthuis have echoed frictions seen in other countries over how judges adjudicate thorny political questions.
After President Donald Trump called for a judge to be impeached, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public statement last month saying appeals, not impeachment, were the correct response to disagreement with judicial rulings.
Political support for de Perthuis and her colleagues has poured in, including from Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who condemned the threats, and the High Council for the Judiciary.
(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Richard Lough, Frances Kerry and Alison Williams)
