Marine Le Pen faces critical court ruling over eligibility to run for French presidency

• Marine Le Pen faces a critical court ruling regarding her appeal against a five-year ban from public office and a four-year prison sentence.
• The original sentence, handed down in March 2025, was for embezzling €1.4m in European parliament funds to pay party employees between 2004 and 2016.
• Le Pen, a frontrunner for the 2027 French presidential election, has labelled the initial verdict a political attempt to derail her campaign.
• The Paris Court of Appeal's decision on Tuesday will determine her eligibility to run for president.
• The ruling is crucial for the National Rally party, as it could decide whether Le Pen or her protégé Jordan Bardella leads the party into the next presidential race.

IN FULL

France awaits decision on whether Le Pen can run for president in judgment that could define country’s future