PARIS, France, Jan 9, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - French far-right leader Marine Le Pen 
faces a pivotal appeal trial next week, in an embezzlement case that could 
derail her 2027 presidential bid.

The trial, which begins on Tuesday, follows a ruling last year in which a 
French court banned Le Pen, 57, from running for office for five years in an 
EU Parliament fake-jobs case involving her and other officials from her 
National Rally party.

The three-time presidential candidate was also sentenced to four years' 
imprisonment, two of which were suspended, and a fine of 100,000 euros 
($117,000).

Le Pen, who has always said she is innocent, is now seeking to overturn that 
verdict on appeal in hopes of clearing the way for her fourth run at the 
Elysee.

But if the court maintains the ruling, she will be barred from standing in 
the 2027 poll, widely seen as her best -- and possibly last -- chance to win 
the country's top job.

Twelve of the accused, as well as the party itself, have appealed the 
verdict, including RN deputy party leader and Perpignan mayor Louis Aliot.

Another 12 people -- including one of Le Pen's sisters -- have however 
decided to accept their convictions without appealing. Another person 
convicted has since died.

The trial is expected to run until February 12, with a verdict expected this 
summer.

- Not 'administrative errors' -

The initial ruling was a devastating blow for Le Pen and the RN, which has 
been ascendant in French politics in recent years.

The court found her guilty, along with 24 former MEPs, assistants and 
accountants and the far-right party as a legal entity, of operating a 
"system" from 2004 to 2016 using EU Parliament funds to employ RN employees 
in France.

The court put the final cost of the scheme at 3.2 million euros after some 
defendants reimbursed 1.1 million euros.

"These were not administrative errors or misunderstandings by MEPs (Members 
of the European Parliament) of confusing European rules, but 
misappropriations within the framework of a system set up to alleviate the 
party's expenses," said the court in its ruling.

Le Pen walked out of the courtroom during the sentencing, later slamming the 
verdict as a "political decision".

The judges defended the ruling to bar her from running, saying elected 
officials should not benefit from "preferential treatment" and citing the 
risk of reoffending.

The news sparked shockwaves in France but also in certain quarters around the 
world, with the likes of President Donald Trump, his billionaire adviser Elon 
Musk and the Kremlin expressing concern.

According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, the Trump administration is 
allegedly considering sanctions against the judges of the Paris Criminal 
Court who convicted Le Pen last March.

But a US official on Thursday denied that Washington was considering taking 
such action.

"The purported leak is stale and false," US Under Secretary of State for 
Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers wrote on X.

- Political crisis -

Le Pen took over the former National Front (FN) from her father Jean-Marie Le 
Pen in 2011 and has since sought to clean up the party's image. Her father, 
who died in January, was often accused of making racist and anti-Semitic 
comments.

Her legal troubles may leave the field open for her top lieutenant, Jordan 
Bardella, the 30-year-old head of the RN, to run for president in her place.

An Odoxa-Mascaret poll in November projected that Bardella would win the 
second round of elections, irrespective of who stood against him.

Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron cannot run again because of a 
constitutional two-term limit.

The country has been battling a deep political crisis since Macron called 
snap elections in 2024 that were intended to consolidate his power but 
instead resulted in a hung parliament and more seats in the chamber for the 
far right.

Le Pen last year called on the president to again dissolve parliament, adding 
that it would be "wise" for him to resign, but Macron said last week he would 
work until the "last second" of his mandate.