File photo of Marine Le Pen (L) with Viktor Orbán

Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini are saying out loud what many have been saying in Hungary since the TISZA government power grab: if you want to see just how undemocratic the European Union is, you only need to look at Hungary.

In a social media post responding to news about the shocking police raid on the largest Hungarian opposition party, the conservative FIDESZ of Viktor Orbán, French Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen wrote that –

Violations of the rule of law are on the rise in Hungary, with the blessing of those who consider themselves to be on the “side of good. Democracy, however, has no sides. It simply has rules that the new Hungarian prime minister—a protégé of the European Commission—is trampling on.”

Les violations de l’État de droit se multiplient en Hongrie avec la bénédiction de ceux qui se pensent dans le « camp du bien ».

La démocratie, elle, n’a pas de camp. Elle a juste des règles que le nouveau Premier ministre hongrois, protégé de la Commission européenne, est en… https://t.co/WMeG7aLEWy

— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) July 21, 2026

This was a likely jab at the two German top politicians, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Peoples’ Party (EPP) President, Manfred Weber. Shortly after the TISZA party’s electoral victory in April, the Commission announced that they will release hitherto withheld European funds to Péter Magyar’s government. Weber, on his part, has responded to questions about the repressive measures introduced by Magyar against his political opponents by expressing his full support for the controversial Hungarian PM.

The leader of the Rassemblement National previously expressed her full support for Viktor Orbán during the final days of the Hungarian election campaign. During a speech in Budapest, she said that Hungary has become a symbol across Europe, one of a proud and sovereign people’s resistance to oppression.

Marine le Pen during her speech at the Patriots for Europe rally in Budapest in March. MTI/Hegedüs Róbert

Hungary achieved this status under the leadership of none other than Prime Minister Orbán, who has been championing this political vision for sixteen years now. On the issues of immigration, identity, and sovereignty, he has not backed down even under the most difficult circumstances, she said during the Patriots for Europe rally. Her predictions of a FIDESZ victory in March did not come true though.

Another warning came from Italy. Matteo Salvini, President of the Lega and Deputy Prime Minister, warned in his social media post that “what is happening in Hungary is serious and sets a bad precedent. If democracy is twisted to target the opposition, it is no longer democracy. And the deafening silence from Brussels and from those who have been talking—often inappropriately—about the “rule of law” for years is striking.

Quanto sta accadendo in Ungheria è grave e rappresenta un brutto precedente. Se la democrazia viene piegata per colpire l’opposizione, non è più democrazia. E colpisce l’assordante silenzio da parte di Bruxelles e di chi da anni parla – spesso a sproposito – di “Stato di… https://t.co/iSEzLd8kQl

— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) July 22, 2026

The French and the Italian politicians have both hinted at the fact that the European Commission and Parliament were constantly up in arms at almost every aspect of the previous Orbán government’s politics in the past decade and a half. However, now that Magyar forces out the president, restricts the mandate of MPs, removes the head of the Constitutional Court and raids the offices of FIDESZ, European leaders are not only silent, but actively support the demolition of rule of law in Hungary.

Matteo Salvini. Photo: Hungary Today

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Featured Photo: X Marine Le Pen