The case of Le Pen still raises thorny questions for democracies: Should the rule of law apply always, or only most of the time? And when it comes to politicians, how can we trust the law is being applied without political considerations?
For many, the debate boils down to whether one trusts the democratic institutions such as courts and regulators taking those decisions. In many cases, they are trustworthy; in other cases, they might be less reliable.
The disqualification of Le Pen risks deepening the polarization of France’s electorate, divided between urbanites who are broadly supportive of institutions such the judiciary and rural, working-class voters who see Le Pen as a change agent.
Those voters mistrust institutions. That narrative gathered steam after last summer’s snap parliamentary elections, when disparate parties—ranging from President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-business ranks to the far-left France Unbowed—cooperated to keep Le Pen’s candidates from winning seats by withdrawing underperforming candidates from individual races so that voters could coalesce behind a single candidate opposed to Le Pen.