French justice minister urges prompt appeal hearing for Le Pen – as it happened (2025)

And on that lighter note, that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.

Thank you for following Europe Live!

Thanks for all your submissions on the best April Fools’ Day stories from around Europe – really enjoyed them all!

Here is a selection of my favourites:

LOOK GOVERNMENT, NO HANDS: All immigrants to the Netherlands will be asked to pass a cycling exam from 2026 after they caused frustration among locals by stopping on red lights and sticking out a hand to signal. To pass the course, they will have to demonstrate they can “transport two children, a week’s supply of groceries and a cello, while steering a bicycle with one hand,” with bonus points for doing this at night.

(Dutch News, from Keith)

ELK ARMY: Swedish armed forces plan to form a first cavalry unit with armored elk to be deployed to take part in “assymetric warfare,” but experts worry they eat a lot and get easily scared (pictures!).

(Folkbladet, from L and Bjorn)

NOBODY EXPECTS THE GERMAN CHICKEN: German police in the Free State of Thuringia have acquired a chicken named Henrietta to lead its cocaine detection efforts, after concluding it would be “more efficient than a dog” because it lays eggs and could operate undetected as “who would think of suspecting” a chicken (pictures!).

(Polizei Thüringen, MDR, from Karl-Heinz)

TREMENDOUS STREETS: US president Donald Trump has ordered all streets named after John F Kennedy to be renamed after him, with new satellite to be sent into space by Elon Musk to monitor compliance, Luxembourgish media report.

(RTL, from Adrian and Olaf)

(Althought I note some genuine concerns in comments asking the RTL’s team to delete this story before Trump decides to buy Luxembourg and turn it into a golf course in retaliation for the joke.)

AIRPORT FAST TRACK: US president Donald Trump plans to buy Shannon Airport for faster access to his Doonbeg golf course.

(heard on Irish radio, from Paul)

MIND THE GAPS: Scottish road network has been given preservation status in recognition of their “distinctive patchwork appearance.”

(Midlothian View, from Maire)

I SAID MAYBE: Birds in the Chorlton Ees Nature Reserve in northern England have learned to sing “Wonderwall” by Oasis after spending too much time in the Manchester city centre.

(BBC Countryfile, from Alison)

POWER OF PASTA: Italian wind energy company built a prototype hybrid turbine tower using slightly curved rigatoni pasta and concrete.

(Windpower, from Ian; presumably a nod to this BBC classic)

THINGS ARE HEATING UP: The Royal Baths, or Łazienki, park in Warsaw announced plans to open a geothermally heated lake open to bathing all year round, “just as King Stanisław August dreamed of.”

Hinting it might not exactly be a serious idea, it added that visitors should refrain from feeding dolphins when swimming (a reference to their last year’s joke).

(Go to Warsaw, from Konrad)

The far-right National Rally called a public, erm, rally “in support of Marine Le Pen” in Paris on Sunday, as part of its broader plans for “peaceful mobilisation” in protest at yesterday’s court decision effectively banning Le Pen from the 2027 presidential race as part of a conviction over embezzlement of public funds.

Éric Ciotti, leader of the Union of the Right for the Republic, has announced plans to bring forward a proposal to abolish the immediate effect of the public office ban, regardless of the appeal, calling it a “political death sentence.”

He said the proposal will be tabled in June.

Prime minister François Bayrou’s comments that he has “questions” about the immediate application of the public office ban, which is a decision of far-reaching consequences that do not get suspended on appeal, are likely to cause a stir.

But he appeared to make a rather nuanced argument, clearly differentiating between him passing judgment on the specific ruling – which he said would not be appropriate for a government official – and talking in broader, theoretical, terms about a possible parliamentary “reflection” on the law that led to the decision.

He appeared to say it was the lawmakers’ job to reform the rules on public office bans if they wished to – as suggested by Éric Ciotti – instead of criticising the judges who framed their verdict based on the existing law.

He said that, given the separation of powers, “the process is very simple” as a bill would then be examined by both chambers, and “it is parliament that will decide whether or not it is appropriate to change the wording of the law” on which the decision was based.

A regular session of questions to the government is under way in Paris, and – you guessed it – it’s off to a rocky start.

It opens with a question by a National Rally lawmaker, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, on the court’s decision against Marine Le Pen, effectively banning her from the 2027 presidential race, for embezzlement of public funds.

He repeated earlier attack lines expressed by Le Pen (11.58), attacking “tyrant judges” and saying the party “will not let you steal the presidential election,” asking “what is Marine Le Pen accused of, it not of being able to defeat this system?”

Responding on behalf of the government, justice minister Gérald Darmanin said that Le Pen could appeal against the ruling if she disagrees with it, and said he “personally hoped” that it would be organised “within the most reasonable time possible,” although he stressed that the court is independent of the government in deciding its timelines.

Le Pen’s lawyer already confirmed plans to bring an appeal. But under the French laws, it would not result in an interim suspension the application of the immediate public office ban, risking prolonged uncertainty about her eligibility to stand in the 2027 race until the appeal is decided.

He also called Tanguy out for not condemning attacks on and threats against the independent judiciary in the aftermath of yesterday’s decision.

Speaking for the Socialist Party, its parliamentary group president Boris Vallaud criticised those attacking the decision by saying that “to question a court decision is to breach the basic principles of the separation of powers and the rule of law.”

He said “all French women and all French people are equal before the law,” and one should only look at the “damning” facts of the case, as he warned that to juxtapose the courts with the will of the people would be “a dead road” undermining democracy.

He asked prime minister François Bayrou to express “unconditional support” for judges, despite “attacks against our rule of law made from the Kremlin to the White House by the friends of Le Pen.”

In response, Bayrou said it would not be right for a government official to ever criticise a court decision as he declared his “unconditional, unmeasured” support for the independent judiciary.

He also stresses that Le Pen can appeal against the decision.

But in comments that are likely to cause further controversy, he adds that, speaking as a private citizen, he has some questions about the unappealable nature of the immediate public office ban.

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday that the United States should not to be misled by any “stalling tactics” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported.

“At the upcoming meeting of Nato foreign ministers, we will make it clear to the American side that we should not engage with Putin’s stalling tactics,” she said in a statement after arriving in Kyiv for a visit.

“There will only be real and lasting peace when the Russian president realises that he cannot win this war, that his destruction is not successful,” she said at a news conference on Tuesday, adding that Ukraine had to “conduct the peace negotiations from a position of strength”.

The Icelandic town of Grindavík and the nearby tourist attraction the Blue Lagoon have been evacuated after the area was hit by another volcanic eruption.

The eruption is the 11th since 2021, when the Reykjanes peninsula, a region south-west of Reykjavík, started its new eruption period.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said an “earthquake swarm” started at about 6.30am on the Sundhnúkur crater row in a similar place to previous eruptions, before erupting at 9.45am local time just north of the protective barrier near Grindavík.

The orange-red fissure, expelling lava and smoke, quickly spread southward and by 10am local time it had already reached through the defence walls north of Grindavík. Warning sirens went off around the town. By 10.30am local time it was estimated to be 700 metres long.

The Icelandic tourist board said there was “no threat to the population” and that flights were operating as usual at Keflavík airport.

Spain is also looking to increase its defence spending soon, with defence minister Margarita Robles declaring it would reach 2% GDP “well before” the previously declared target of 2029.

Spain currently has the lowest defence spending as a percentage of GDP among Nato members at just 1.28%, behind Belgium (1.3%), Canada (1.37%) and Portugal (1.55%).

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has been touring Europe in recent weeks, urging allies to step up, partially in response to repeated complaints from US president Donald Trump.

Last week, Rutte said in a speech in Warsaw that Spain was now expecting to meet the alliance’s 2% target by the summer. This prompted the Spanish government to tell Rutte it would do its best to get closer to the target by that time, a government source told Reuters.

“It’s not so much a problem of deadlines, but I believe that well in advance, before 2029, we will meet our obligations … We are working on it in a serious and rigorous manner,” Robles said on the sidelines of an event in Lisbon.

By the way, a reminder that to fight back against this really heavy news cycle, I’m out on a hunt for the best April Fools’ Day stories across Europe.

Thanks for all submissions so far – some absolutely brilliant ones! – but the search still continues. Email me on jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.

I will bring you the best of the best in an afternoon post to (hopefully) put a smile on your face before the end of the day.

Finland will follow Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in planning to withdraw from the Ottawa convention banning anti-personnel landmines, the country’s prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

The government said that the change was necessary because of the long-term threat that Russia poses to Europe.

Orpo said that while there was no “immediate” military threat, “withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention will give us the possibility to prepare for the changes in the security environment in a more versatile way,” or – to put in plain English – to stockpile and potentially use landmines on Finland’s 1,340 km long border with Russia.

The decision was taken after some “preparatory work” by Finnish officials, who concluded that mines “are well-suited for Finland’s national defence,” as they are “are technically simple and are therefore well suited for training and use in a conscription system,” the government said.

It added that landmines “can also be produced quickly and in large quantities in Finland.”

The note stressed that the Finnish forces would not deploy mines “in normal conditions,” and the country “remained committed to its international obligations concerning the responsible use of mines,” but it was part of a broader preparation for “what if”.

A formal proposal to withdraw from the convention will be prepared in the near future, and the exit will take legal effect six months after the notice is made to the UN secretary general.

Separately, Orpo said the government plans to increase its defence spending to at least 3% GDP by 2029, up from estimated 2.41% last year and 1.4% in 2021, the last full year before Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.

Back to Strasbourg, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas spoke about Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, saying “the evidence is overwhelming” to prove “heinous” crimes committed.

She said:

“From photos to phone records and decoded call signs used by commanders of Russian radio channels, there is no denying it. We know exactly who the perpetrators are.

With the technology we have at our fingertips today, impunity for war crimes is, frankly, impossible, so long as we put the work in [investigating] it. And that is what we must do, because the number of possible crimes committed in this war is simply beyond belief.”

Kallas particularly condemned “the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children,” calling it “one of the gravest crimes committed, an extreme violation of human rights.”

She said that by continuing aggression against Ukraine, “Russia is destroying Ukraine’s present while denying the countries its future.”

The EU’s foreign policy chief said that around 170,000 criminal cases have been opened by the Ukrainian authorities, and are being supported by the EU.

“When this war is over, and one day it will be, recovery will come not from only a reconstruction of the buildings in Bucha or Borodyanka or Bakhmut … it will also come in the pursuit of justice and accountability for the heinous crimes committed by Russia, because only justice will give every Ukrainian family the peace of mind they need to move on and rebuild their lives,” she said.

A new Toluna Harris Interactive poll for RTL, published today, showed that party president Jordan Bardella would come top in the first round of the presidential election if he was picked as the National Rally’s candidate instead of Le Pen, with 35-36% of votes.

Former centre-right prime minister Édouard Philippe came second with 25% of the declared support, with the far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon third at 13%.

In various scenarios polled, about 90% of Le Pen and the National Rally’s voters would transfer his support to Bardella.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is back in her usual fiercely campaigning mode this morning, as she has just declared the National Rally would “not let the French people have the presidential election stolen from them” after yesterday’s court verdict effectively banning her from the 2027 race.

In comments reported by the French media, she told a group meeting opened to pressthis morning that she wanted to “defend the French people, who have the right to vote for whomever they wish.”

Le Pen compared the verdict against her to “a nuclear bomb” dropped on her “by the system,” arguing that “if they use such a powerful weapon against us, it is because we are on the verge of winning the elections.”

“We will not let this happen,” she added.

Le Pen also blamed the courts for “interfering” with the electoral process, saying it undermined France’s ability to defend democracy globally.

But she pointedly criticised reported threats to judges, saying they were “scandalous” and “unacceptable.”

Her comments come hours after the National Rally’s president – and a potential future presidential candidate – Jordan Bardella announced a “peaceful mobilisation” to express support for Le Pen, with protests and leafleting campaigns planned for this weekend.

Bardella claimed that an online campaign, started last night, had already gathered “hundreds of thousands” of signatures in support, with more campaigning expected over the coming days.

We brought you more of his comments earlier today (11.13 and 9.22) and in our yesterday’s blog (17.53).