French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was due back in court on Tuesday for a ruling that will determine whether she can run in next year’s presidential election.
Le Pen, 57, was sentenced by a lower court last year to a five-year ban from public office, as well as two years in jail over a fake jobs scandal when she was a member of the European Parliament.
The National Rally (RN) leader appealed that decision, and this is the outcome of that appeal which will be decided today at 1:30 pm local time (1130 GMT).
The appeals court could uphold the earlier ruling, overturn it, or reduce Le Pen’s sentence to a two-year ban and house arrest.
She told a party rally over the weekend that she was “not afraid” of the coming decision.
Le Pen is hoping to make another run for the presidency in 2027, after coming second in France’s 2017 and 2022 elections. However, if the ban is upheld, his disciple Jordan Bardella is set to replace him.
In which case was Le Pen convicted?
As a member of what was then called the National Front, Le Pen was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2017.
Along with nearly two dozen former far-right workers, he was found guilty of misusing EU funds to pay alleged workers for jobs that did not actually exist.
Prosecutors said she “professionalized” a type of corruption to siphon off EU funds that was first started by her father, the late far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Le Pen, the party and 10 others have appealed against their decision, with fellow RN chief Bardella describing the trials as “politically motivated”. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Edited by: Natalie Muller