PARIS: The appeal trial of Marine Le Pen opened Tuesday, with the French far-right leader hoping to overthrow a graft conviction and save her 2027 run for president. The appeal comes after a French court last year barred her from running for office for five years over a European Parliament fake jobs scam involving her and other officials from her National Rally party. The three-time presidential candidate was also handed a four-year prison sentence, with two years suspended, and fined 100,000 euros ($116,000).

France’s far-right leader clears path for protégé Jordan Bardella to run in 2027 if embezzlement conviction is upheld

The victimization strategy that Marine Le Pen, head of the far-right Rassemblement National party, adopted after her embezzlement conviction has failed to reach beyond her core…