Global News Podcast
French far-right leader, Le Pen, banned from politics for five years
Mon, 31 Mar 2025
France's Marine Le Pen is barred from running in the next French presidential election. Also: Myanmar's junta say at least 2,000 people died in Friday’s earthquake, and UK hosts illegal migration summit.
Chapter 1: Why is Marine Le Pen banned from French politics?
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard and at 13 hours GMT on Monday, the 31st of March, these are our main stories. The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been found guilty of embezzlement and blocked from running in the next French election. Some people are still being pulled alive from buildings in Myanmar three days after the earthquake.
National mourning has been declared, but the military authorities are continuing to wage war. Musik Musik Musik Musik Musik Let's begin in France. When the French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was accused of embezzling EU parliamentary funds for her party national rally, she said if convicted it would be her political death.
Well, now she's been found guilty and handed a four-year prison sentence to suspended. She probably won't serve time behind bars and instead will wear an electronic tag. More crucially, she's been banned from running for political office for five years, making her ineligible for the 2027 presidential election. Our correspondent Hugh Schofield was outside the court in Paris.
Chapter 2: What are the implications of Marine Le Pen's political ban?
We now have, after a very, very tense couple of hours, we have a definitive verdict and sentence on Marine Le Pen. And that sentence is the worst she could possibly have hoped for. In other words, a five-year period of ineligibility to be carried out straight away, regardless of whether or not she appeals. And this is the key point in all of this.
I think everyone, even she herself, expected to be convicted on the charges. But the key question was what she would be sentenced to. And there was... Ein legaler Satz, der am Herzen ist, der französische Exekution Provisoire. Wenn diese Worte von der Präsidentin des Gerichts, dem Gericht, geäußert wurden, würde das Zeitraum der Unabhängigkeit direkt aufhören. Sie hat diese Worte geäußert.
Das Zeitraum ist fünf Jahre. Und was das bedeutet, ist, dass Marine Le Pen in der nächsten Wahl in 2027 nicht laufen kann. Das ist ein legaler Witz, von dem ich völlig unbewusst bin. Ich bin nicht sicher, ob jemand davon denken kann. Sie kann nicht im Jahr 2027 laufen. Sie ist Favorit, um in diesen Wahlkampf zu laufen.
Favorit in dem Sinne, dass sie by far der populärste einzelne Kandidat in der ersten Runde dieser Wahl ist. Es wäre ihre vierte Versuchung, die Präsidentin zu bekommen. Und bei dieser vierten Versuchung würde sie die höchst... So what does this do to the political picture in France? Our Europe editor is Paul Moss.
Chapter 3: Who might replace Marine Le Pen as the National Rally candidate?
There is one person who many think will be taken off the reserve bench to take her place as a candidate, and that is Jordan Bardell. Just 29 years old, he is actually the leader of the National Rally Party. He is considered very charismatic, a good speaker.
But there are question marks about whether someone who is just 29 years old really has the experience to take on the role of being a presidential candidate and indeed to become the president of France.
One thing I should mention though is that last year Jordan Bardell was seen as taking a bit of a swipe at Marine Le Pen when he said it was a bare minimum for a politician that they should not have a criminal record. Some of his allies then accused him of behaving like a Judas. Now today Mr. Bardel has dutifully condemned the verdict of the court. He said French democracy had been killed.
However, he is an ambitious man and there are some who will think that underneath that stern condemnation there is a chance that Mr. Jordan Bardel today is grinning from ear to ear.
Well, Mr. Bardell has not been the only one to react to this news. Tell us about what's been going on, what people are saying both inside and outside France.
Well, inside France, you know, obviously the other far right figures are furious. I should mention Eric Zemmour from the Reconquest Party, who also said it wasn't for judges to decide who people vote for. There are plenty of people who are not political allies of Marine Le Pen, but who are uneasy about the idea of her not being able to stand.
I mean, it's interesting that Eric Chiotti from the centre-right politician said, the destiny of our nation has been confiscated by an outrageous judicial cabal. People are uneasy about what's happening. Outside France, I think there has been a lot of interest in this, partly because there are political allies of Marine Le Pen who are angry.
But more importantly, this verdict will strike a chord in many countries. You have people, politicians in many places, for example, of the United States, who claim that what they say is the will of the people is being stopped by the courts. So you have people like here in Spain, the Santiago Abascal, the head of the Vox party, very similar to Le Pens party.
They will not succeed, he says, in silencing the voice of the people. Das war Paul Moss. Und als wir diesen Podcast recordieren, haben wir gerade gehört, dass Marine Le Pen's Lawyer sagt, dass sie sich anrufen wird.
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Chapter 4: What is the current situation in Myanmar after the earthquake?
Relief-Teams are grappling with a growing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar following Fridays massive earthquake. The World Health Organization says two dozen hospitals have been destroyed or damaged. Myanmar's military rulers now say that more than 2,000 people are known to have died. The final figure is expected to be much higher.
Aid efforts have been hampered by damage to roads, bridges and railways. There are power blackouts and unreliable communication services. Foreign aid and rescue teams are now starting to arrive, with a Chinese team pulling four people alive from the rubble in Mandalay on Monday.
Alexander Mathieu, who is the regional director for Asia Pacific for the International Federation of the Red Cross, says survivors of the earthquake are living in desperate conditions.
Es ist momentan ziemlich schrecklich, weil die Leute auf den Straßen leben müssen. Es gibt Nachhinein-Shops. Die Leute sind draußen. Es ist extrem heiß. Es ist plus 36 Grad vor 10 Uhr gestern Abend, damit Sie es verstehen können. Es gibt keine Kraft, also ist auch die Wasser nicht gepumpt. Es gibt also sehr wenig saubere Wasser, um zu trinken. Und natürlich sind die Leute traumatisiert.
Es ist also ein extrem schwieriges Zeitpunkt für die Menschen in den in der Welt gefährdeten Bereichen von Myanmar momentan.
Unsere Berichterin Rebecca Henschke hat uns mehr über die Rettungsaufgaben in Myanmar erzählt. We are seeing now teams, Malaysian teams, Chinese teams, they are still finding people alive. But my colleague from BBC Burmese did reach a preschool in just the outskirts of Mandalay and that has completely collapsed. And we're still learning about the sheer scale of the destruction, aren't we?
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Chapter 5: How is the international community responding to the Myanmar crisis?
Wir sind es. Und es gibt keinen Zweifel, dass diese Todesstärke erhöht wird. Es ist extrem schwierig, eine klare Bildung zu bekommen. Aber sobald Teams mehr auf dem Boden gehen können, meine Kollegen von BBC Burmese, finden wir nur hunderten von Leuten, die noch unter dem Rumpel sind. Und das ist in großen Bereichen. Also wird die Todesstärke sicherlich erhöht.
Meanwhile, the conflict in Myanmar is still continuing. That's right. The Myanmar military has continued to carry out ground attacks. I've had confirmation from the rebel groups in the Sagai region, the worst affected region. They've carried out heavy mortar attacks against the rebels, they told me. They've also carried out airstrikes.
So this is at a time, as we've talked about, that people are in desperate need of rescue work. Yet the military in the face of calls from the United Nations, from Singapore to carry out an immediate ceasefire and focus on humanitarian aid, they are continuing this war to suppress opposition, suppress this pro-democracy uprising.
And I've read that it could be weeks, months even before it's properly understood just how much damage has been done and rebuilding can begin even. And yet, it's only a matter of weeks before the monsoon is expected to start, isn't it?
Yeah, that will make things much more difficult. And we're hearing from people who are now sleeping out on the streets, they're heading into their fourth night out on the streets, that they don't have fresh drinking water. And also the other issue is that there is just so many deceased people, dead bodies, that crematorians are working overtime, but there's concern about the spread of disease.
That was Rebecca Henschke. Well, the families of those still trapped under a collapsed building in Bangkok spent another night anxiously waiting for news. 18 people are known to have died there since the unfinished tower block came tumbling down on Friday. More than 70 others who have been working at the site are thought to be buried under the rubble.
Our correspondent Anna Foster joined rescue teams working overnight at the scene.
Es ist 2 Uhr morgens. Und obwohl es hier viel weniger Menschen gibt, als es im Tag ist, kann man die Geräusche der Flüchtlinge hören, die hier über die Nacht bleiben. Man kann hier im Hintergrund sehen, dass die Leute etwas zu essen bekommen. Das ist eine Art Lebensstall, der sich aufgebaut hat. Es gibt eine große Box von Zwiebeln.
Es gibt zwei große rote Container mit Eis, wo die Leute kaltes Wasser bekommen. Wenn man hier um die Kante geht, sieht man, was ein Gebäude war, vor ein paar Tagen. und ist jetzt mit diesen großen Spotlights bemerkt, die diese ganze Gegend illuminieren. Und dann das große Pile von Rubbel, das in den Mittelpunkt kommt. Dieses Gebäude war eigentlich an seiner vollen Höhe.
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Chapter 6: What is the UK doing about illegal migration?
We have worked six hours and changed another team gonna come.
How are you finding this? This must be very hard for you.
Yeah, of course. It's quite hard.
Auch nachts hier ist es warm und kalt. Und das ist der Geräusch eines großen Fans, den man hört, der springt und versucht, ein bisschen cooles Wasser an die Leute, die hier arbeiten. Es gibt dieses schreckliche Whiteboard mit Nummern auf es. Und das ist, wo sie in Kolumnen labeln, wie viele Leute sie suchen, wie viele Menschen noch unverantwortlich sind, wie viele Menschen gestorben sind.
Es ist ein großer Grupp von Rettungsarbeiterinnen, die uns gerade vorbeigehen. Und sie drehen jemanden auf einem Trolley. Eigentlich sieht es aus wie ein anderer Rettungsarbeiter. Diese Leute haben seit vielen Stunden sehr hart gearbeitet. Es wird natürlich einen Wert nehmen. V.a. wegen der Heizung und den Bedingungen, in denen sie arbeiten. Es ist ein weiterer Grupp von Rettungsarbeiterinnen.
Es ist wie ein Schiffwechsel. Es gibt verschiedene Teams, die immer wieder rausgehen. Aber man sieht diesen bestimmten Mood, wenn sie diesen Ort verlassen und ihre Equipment rausziehen. Und sie bringen die Streicher raus und sie sind leer. Weil dieser Suche noch weiter geht.
Anna Foster in Bangkok. The UK government is hosting a two-day summit on tackling illegal migration. Over 40 countries, including China and the US, have representatives attending, as well as social media companies Meta, X and TikTok. The Labour government has emphasized the need for international cooperation and has struck deals with Germany and Iraq.
But despite this, the number of people reaching the UK in small boats increases.
We must pull every lever available, securing our borders, getting a grip on illegal migration and delivering our plan for change. We want to work with you. Our UK political correspondent Rob Watson told us more about the meeting and its significance.
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Chapter 7: How has Brexit affected the UK's migration policies?
And secondly, more cooperation on fighting the gangs of criminal smugglers who take people from one place to another. But it's worth again pointing out, these are just not easy, Jackie. I mean, the UN has pointed out two main problems, that an awful lot of countries, they just don't have the kind of technical legal capacity to cooperate.
And secondly, that there's just an awful lot of mistrust between agencies and countries on cooperating on such a sensitive issue. So, People sort of know what to do, but getting it done, it's been called for before, it ain't easy.
So there are agencies, there are countries there. What are the social media companies doing there?
The reason they're there is, you know, that's how the criminal gangs do an awful lot of their advertising, both in terms of getting people to think, yeah, it would be a good idea to try and leave my country, and oh yeah, and I can do it via this particular route. So it's saying to the social media companies, please don't make the job of criminal gangs any easier.
And just finally and just briefly, for the UK government, isn't part of the problem of irregular migration that it's increased since the UK left the EU?
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Chapter 8: Who is the first woman to cross Baffin Island solo?
Very briefly, yes. I mean, slightly less briefly, absolutely. The UK is not a member of the EU. It can no longer return migrants back to the European Union countries. And it's not part of the EU law enforcement agencies like Europol anymore.
Rob Watson. A British explorer has become the first woman to cross Canada's freezing Baffin Island solo. Camilla Hempelmann-Adams, who's 32, completed the 240-kilometer trek a day faster than expected. Anissa Kadri has more.
Camilla Hempelmann-Adams fasste Temperaturen so hoch wie minus 40 Grad Celsius, als sie 13 Tage lang über Kanadas größte Insel treckte. Sie schlug die Distanz auf dem Fuß und mit dem Ski, während sie einen Schlauch drückte und es als hart, aber unglaublich beschrieben hat. No surprise then that her feet are sore.
But she's no stranger to breaking records, previously becoming the youngest British female to ski to the North Pole aged 15. Her father, the adventurer, Sir David Hempelman Adams, met her at the finish. She says she hopes to inspire other women and highlight the impact of climate change on the region.
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