Man, 76, convicted after threatening judge who barred France's Le Pen

By Gabriel Stargardter

PARIS (Reuters) -A 76-year-old Frenchman was found guilty on Wednesday of threatening a judge who barred French far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for president in 2027, and he was handed an eight-month suspended sentence.

The retiree, who had no previous criminal record, was also given a 3,000-euro ($3,305) fine, said the prosecutor's office in Bobigny, northeast of Paris.

He was convicted of inciting deadly threats and of contempt for a judicial official, after an initial charge of death threats was dropped, the prosecutor's office said.

The man, identified by French media as Gerard B., had published a photo of a guillotine on his X account, writing that it would be a fitting punishment for Judge Benedicte de Perthuis who convicted Le Pen, the prosecutor's office said earlier.

De Perthuis was placed under police protection after receiving death threats and having her home address shared online. Photos of her have also been published on social media and far-right political websites.

De Perthuis convicted Le Pen and two dozen figures from her National Rally (RN) party last month of embezzling EU funds. She handed Le Pen an immediate five-year ban on running for office, which will bar her from the 2027 presidential election unless the ruling is overturned on appeal next summer.

Le Pen has said she is the victim of a witch hunt and that her punishment amounts to judges meddling in democracy. She has criticised death threats against judges and has pledged to pursue all legal means to overturn her ban.

($1 = 0.9077 euros)

(Reporting by Gabriel StargardterEditing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Peter Graff, David Gregorio and Gareth Jones)