The political future of Marine Le Pen hinges on a crucial appeal in Paris this week that will determine whether she can run in the 2027 presidential election, after she was barred from public office over misusing 4 million euros of EU funds. 

Le Pen, who leads France's populist National Rally (RN) party, was sentenced to four years in prison (two suspended, two under house arrest which are on hold during her appeal) and banned from political office for five years, effectively disqualifying her from the 2027 election. She was also fined €100,000. In last March's ruling, Le Pen and her co-defendants were convicted of using funds meant for the European Parliament to pay staff that were working for RN.

RN is the largest opposition party in France, which poses a major threat to President Emmanuel Macron in next year's election - as the party enjoys widespread support throughout the country due to a pendulum shift back to conservative policies and anti-immigration views. 

Le Pen's appeal is scheduled to run from January 13th through February 12th, with a final ruling expected by this summer. If unsuccessful, Le Pen says her protege, 30-year-old party president Jordan Bardella, will run in her place. 

US President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration have voice support for Le Pen following her conviction, who will undoubtedly use her as an example of a weaponized judicial system in Europe that seeks to unfairly block right-wing politicians who oppose immigration from taking power. 

German magazine Der Spiegel claims that the Trump administration held internal discussions about sanctioning French prosecutors and judges involved in barring Le Pen, however US Under Secretary of State Sara B. Rogers denied the report as a "fake story."

That said, Reuters notes that "over the past year, the U.S. has imposed sanctions against 11 International Criminal Court judges involved in cases against Israel.

Le Pen has accused the judiciary of politically motivated targeting, telling French TV channel TF1 at the time "In the country of human rights, judges have implemented practices that we thought were reserved for authoritarian regimes."

Meanwhile, the European Parliament's lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve says he hopes Le Pen and her co-defendants' convictions would be upheld, including over 3 million in euro awarded in damages to the European Parliament. RN was also ordered to pay a 2 million fine, with half of the amount having been suspended.