French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has told a Paris court she hopes will overturn her conviction for embezzling EU funds that she had no sense of having committed an offence.
Le Pen, 57, was found guilty last year for hiring assistants who worked on her National Rally party's affairs rather than for the European Parliament (EP) that paid them.
The EP did not play its role of raising the alarm as it should have, she told judges at the start of an appeal trial against a conviction banning her from running for public office for five years.
If the ban is upheld, she will not be able to stand in the 2027 presidential election.
The case at the Paris Court of Appeal will last until 12 February but a ruling is not expected before the summer.
Last year's case centred on charges that Le Pen, along with more than 20 other senior party figures, used European Parliament funding to pay for National Rally staff in France.
Le Pen was given a four-year prison sentence – with two years suspended and the remaining two to be served with an electronic tag rather than in custody. She was handed a €100,000 (£82,635) fine and banned from seeking public office with immediate effect.
More than 20 RN figures were also found guilty in last year's trial and the party was ordered to pay a €2m fine, with half the amount suspended.
Le Pen will be hoping the Paris appeals court overturns last year's verdict and clears her name and path to run for the highest office in France for the fourth time. The ruling's timing and substance will be critical as the presidential election is expected to be held in April 2027.
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally party, stated that barring Le Pen from the election would be deeply worrying for democracy.
