By Juliette Jabkhiro
PARIS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Marine Le Pen's lawyers told a Paris court on Wednesday that the French far-right leader had no intention of committing an offence, on the final day of a crucial appeal trial that will determine whether she can run for president next year.
Le Pen, the longtime leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), was handed a five-year ban from running for public office last March after being convicted of misusing European Union funds.
She had been widely seen as
a likely frontrunner in the 2027 race until she and others were found guilty of misappropriating more than 4 million euros ($4.7 million) in EU funds. Judges ruled that between 2004 and 2016 they used funds earmarked for work at the European Parliament to pay staff who were in fact working for the party.
Le Pen, who has denied the charges, hopes the ban will be overturned or reduced on appeal, allowing her to run in 2027. If she cannot, RN president Jordan Bardella is expected to run in her place.
Le Pen's lawyers, Sandra Chirac Kollarik and Rodolphe Bosselut, told the court that European Parliament rules were unclear and that Le Pen never intended to commit wrongdoing.
"If what she did then is an offence, she isn't aware of having committed one," Kollarik said.
Last week, prosecutors confirmed they were seeking a five-year ban on running for public office for Le Pen, but they dropped an earlier demand that the ban apply regardless of any further appeal.
If the appeals court upholds her conviction and follows the prosecutors' recommendation, Le Pen could still take her case to France's highest court, the Cour de Cassation.
That court has said it would try to rule on any final appeal before the election. But any decision close to the vote, due in the spring of 2027, risks upending the party's presidential election strategy.
(Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro. Editing by Mark Potter)
