Associated Press
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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is back in court on Tuesday to appeal her embezzlement conviction, with her 2027 presidential ambitions hanging on the outcome of the case.
Ms Le Pen, 57, is seeking an overturn to a March verdict that found her guilty of misappropriating European Parliament funds. She was sentenced to five years of banishment from public office and two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet.
Le Pen did not speak when she arrived at court.
When the trial began, she quietly stood up in front of a panel of three judges while the presiding officer read out the reasons for the trial. The venue was packed with dozens of reporters and members of the public.
“I hope that I can convince the judge of my innocence,” Le Pen told reporters on Monday. “This is a new court with a new judge. The case will be reset, so to speak.”
The appeal hearing is expected to last five weeks and a decision will be made at a later date.
Until last year’s ruling sent shockwaves through French politics, Le Pen was seen as the front-runner to potentially succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election. Le Pen denounced it as a “scandal of democracy”.
Le Pen, whose party Rally National is leading in opinion polls, claimed the justice system had brought in a “nuclear bomb” to prevent her from becoming France’s president.
The appeal hearing, involving Le Pen and 11 other defendants, is expected to last five weeks. A three-judge panel of the Paris Court of Appeal is expected to announce its verdict at a later date, possibly before the summer.
Several scenarios are possible, ranging from a not guilty verdict to another conviction that could prevent him from running in 2027. He could also face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros (approximately 117 million yen).
In March, Le Pen and other party officials were found guilty of using funds intended for EU parliamentary aides who had other duties between 2004 and 2016, in violation of EU rules. According to the court, some actually worked for the party then known as the Front National in French domestic politics.
In handing down her sentence, the judge said Le Pen was at the center of a “system” set up to siphon funds from the EU parliament, including payments to her bodyguard and chief of staff.
All have denied wrongdoing, and Le Pen insisted the funds were used in a lawful manner. The judge said Le Pen and others had not amassed personal wealth.
The case originally stemmed from a warning to French authorities in 2015 by then-President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.
The incident and its aftermath weigh heavily on the political future of Le Pen, who has spent more than a decade trying to bring the far right into mainstream French politics. Since taking over the party from his late father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011, he has sought to shed the party’s reputation for racism and anti-Semitism, changing its name and expelling his father in 2015, softening the party’s platform and its public image.
This strategy is paying off. The National Assembly is currently the largest single political group in the French House of Commons and has an extensive network of elected representatives throughout France.
Le Pen will step down as party president in 2021 to focus on the presidential campaign, handing over the post to 30-year-old Jordan Bardera.
Ultimately, if she is unable to run in 2027, Bardella is widely expected to succeed her. His popularity has soared, especially among young voters, but some within his party question his leadership.
In his New Year’s address on Monday, Bardera said the possibility of Le Pen’s conviction would be “very worrying for (French) democracy.”
