Marine Le Pen on the surface of the photo

PARIS, France, Jan 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The appeal trial of Marine Le Pen 
opened Tuesday, with the French far-right leader hoping to overthrow a graft 
conviction and save her 2027 run for president.

The appeal comes after a French court last year barred her from running for 
office for five years over a European Parliament fake jobs scam involving her 
and other officials from her National Rally party.

The three-time presidential candidate was also handed a four-year prison 
sentence, with two years suspended, and fined 100,000 euros ($116,000).

Le Pen, 57, who has always maintained her innocence, entered the packed 
courtroom on Tuesday afternoon flanked by two lawyers, in the hopes of 
clearing the way for a fourth bid to become president.

If the court upholds the first ruling, Le Pen will be barred from running in 
the 2027 election, widely seen as her best -- and possibly last -- chance to 
win the country's top job.

She again risks the maximum sentence -- 10 years in prison and a one-million-
euro ($1.16 million) fine -- if the appeal fails.

She could, however, still be a candidate if she is sentenced to a shorter ban 
and no time to serve under house arrest.

Earlier on Tuesday, Le Pen said she was hopeful the court would listen to her 
side of the story.

The hearing is expected to last a month, with a decision expected this 
summer.

Twelve of the accused, as well as the far-right party itself, have appealed 
against the verdict.

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

- Risk of reoffending -

The initial verdict dealt a heavy blow to Le Pen and the RN, which has surged 
in French politics in recent years.

The court found her guilty -- along with 24 former European Parliament 
lawmakers, assistants and accountants as well as the party itself -- of 
operating a "system" from 2004 to 2016 using European Parliament funds to 
employ RN staff in France.

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

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

The news sparked shock among Le Pen supporters in France, while the US 
President Donald Trump and the Kremlin expressed concern.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said last week he hoped Le Pen could run 
for president despite her legal troubles so her election could help "break" 
the European Union.

- Bardella in the wings -

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 
antisemitic comments.

After coming third in the 2012 presidential polls, Marine Le Pen made the 
run-off in 2017 and 2022 but was beaten by Emmanuel Macron on both occasions.

Yet 2027 could see a different outcome for the far right, with Macron barred 
from standing again under France's constitution.

Some 42 percent of French people said they agreed with "ideas defended by the 
RN", up from 29 percent before the 2022 vote, according to a poll by 
consultancy firm Verian for Le Monde published on Sunday.

If she cannot be a candidate, Le Pen has said her top lieutenant Jordan 
Bardella -- the RN party's president who is not a defendant in the trial -- 
can run in her place.

"Bardella can win instead of me," Le Pen said in December.

A poll in November predicted that Bardella would win the second round of the 
2027 elections, no matter who stands against him.

But Bardella said on Monday that a ruling preventing Le Pen from running 
"would be deeply worrying for democracy" and insisted he was not so far a 
candidate for president but prime minister.