Overview
- The appeal began Tuesday at the Paris courthouse, where Marine Le Pen is tried with 11 co-defendants over suspected diversion of European Parliament assistant salaries to party work.
- Hearings are scheduled through mid-February, and a summer 2026 verdict is expected to decide whether she can run for president in 2027.
- Le Pen asserts she broke no rules, saying new judges are starting the case from zero and that she intends to persuade them of her innocence.
- She plans to attend as often as possible while also campaigning for Rassemblement National candidates in March municipal elections.
- Party leader Jordan Bardella voiced full support and alleged political motives by the judiciary, and Le Pen says he would run if her sentence is upheld.