00:00Next, Marine Le Pen. Her appeal trial over alleged misuse of European Parliament funds has ended this Wednesday.
00:08One question looms above all others. Will the French far-right leader be able to run for president next year?
00:14A verdict will be announced on July 7th. In a Paris court case then last March, she was sentenced to
00:22four years jail with two to be served under house arrest or with an electronic tag.
00:27A fine of €100,000 and, this is the crucial point, a ban from public office for five years, which
00:34means she's banned from running in the 2027 French presidential election.
00:38Le Pen's appealing against the conviction for embezzlement of €4 million of EU funds between 2004 and 2016 while she
00:47was an MEP.
00:49Olivia Bizot has been tracking the case for France 24. She sent this from the Paris courthouse.
00:57After four weeks of intense hearings, the floor belonged to Marine Le Pen's defence for the final word.
01:03Her lawyers spent over five hours delivering their closing arguments before the judges retreated to begin months of deliberation.
01:12The defence stuck to their core line that there was no centralised system of embezzlement, only honest administrative errors.
01:20They're fighting for a full acquittal based on a lack of intent, arguing that Marine Le Pen never imagined she
01:27was breaking the rules.
01:28They also once again turn the blame back on the European Parliament, essentially asking the judges,
01:34you paid these salaries for 12 years, why did you never warn her if something was wrong?
01:40Marine Le Pen is holding out for a total win to save her political career.
01:44As her lawyer put it this afternoon, the 2027 presidential election remains the elephant in the room.
01:51We now have a date for the finale.
01:53The presiding judge has officially announced that the verdict will be delivered on July the 7th,
01:58just in time for the national rally to confirm its candidate for the 2027.
02:04We'll see you next time.
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