WELL, THEY’RE CERTAINLY ASKING FOR IT: French far right floats toppling government in wake of Le Pen verdict.

Two high-ranking officials from France’s biggest far-right party publicly opened the door on Monday to bringing down the government a week after Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement and subsequently barred from running for president.

National Rally President Jordan Bardella and party Vice President Sébastien Chenu revealed in separate interviews that the party is contemplating ousting Prime Minister François Bayrou, just four months after backing the French left’s effort to take down his predecessor, Michel Barnier.

Both National Rally politicians framed their party’s decision as a response to Bayrou’s supposed failures to act on their legislative priorities, such as lowering energy prices or adopting a proportional voting system. Bardella told RTL that “this government isn’t doing much” while Chenu accused Bayrou trying to kick the can down the road and “wear out members of parliament.”

The timing of their messaging, however, is unlikely a coincidence.

You can either have free and fair elections or you can eventually have lampposts. Europe’s elites seem to have forgotten that.