French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has vowed to appeal a court verdict that sentenced her to prison and barred her from running for political office for five years. She called it a "denial of democracy" and a politically motivated move to eliminate her from the 2027 presidential race. "I am combative, I will not allow myself to be eliminated like this," Le Pen told French broadcaster TF1 on Monday. "I will pursue every legal recourse available to me." The Paris court last week convicted Le Pen of embezzling public funds during her time as a member of the European Parliament, sentencing her to four years in prison—two with an electronic tag and two suspended—and fining her €100,000 ($108,200). The ruling also prohibits her from holding elected office for five years. Le Pen, 56, who had been the front-runner for the 2027 presidential election, said she would demand that her appeal be heard quickly in order to preserve her eligibility to run. "There is a narrow path, certainly, but it exists," she said, expressing hope that the appeal process could overturn the ban before the election cycle begins. She also accused the magistrate of deliberately enforcing the provisional execution of her ineligibility to make her appeal ineffective. "This was a political decision that was being made," she claimed, adding: "No judge can decide to interfere in an election as important as the presidential election, especially by violating the rule of law." Le Pen dismissed the charges against her, saying the case was based on an "administrative disagreement" with the European Parliament and not criminal wrongdoing. "There is no personal enrichment, there is no corruption," she said. Le Pen's National Rally party was also fined €2 million in the case. Prosecutors argued that Le Pen and eight other MEPs had misused more than €3 million in EU funds to pay party staff in France, rather than for legitimate parliamentary work. The case marks a major setback for Le Pen, who has long sought to rebrand herself and her party as a mainstream political force in France. If the conviction stands, it could derail her ambitions to succeed President Emmanuel Macron when his second and final term ends in 2027. — Agencies
