Donald Trump has demanded France “free” Marine Le Pen and labelled her ban from running for office a “witch hunt”.

The hard-Right leader was found guilty of embezzling EU funds to pay party staff in a court ruling in Paris on Monday.

She was barred from politics from five years – preventing her from running in the next French presidential election – and handed a four-year prison sentence, two of which will be served under house arrest and the other two will be suspended.

On Friday, the US president threw his support behind Le Pen, saying her conviction was “another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech”.

He likened the affair to his own experience being pursued and convicted in the US courts.

“The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going so far as to put that Opponent in prison,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social account.

Continuing, he said he did not know Le Pen personally but that he appreciates “how hard she worked for so many years”.

“She suffered losses, but kept on going, and now, just before what would be a Big Victory, they get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about – Sounds like a “bookkeeping” error to me,” Mr Trump said.

“It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!”