Sawt Falasteen - Appeal trial of France's Le Pen to begin in January 2026: court

Le Pen suffered a blow in March when a French court convicted her and other officials in her National Rally (RN) party over an EU parliament fake jobs scam.

Le Pen was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, two of which were suspended, and a fine of 100,000 euros ($117,000).

The ruling also banned her from standing for office for five years, which would scupper her ambition of taking part in the 2027 vote unless overturned on appeal.

Despite a huge backlog of cases, the Paris Court of Appeal has accelerated its schedule for the high-profile case in order to be able to deliver its ruling in the summer of 2026.

The public prosecutor's office wanted the case to be heard in early 2026 to "keep the deliberations and judicial debate as far away as possible from the key election date".

The three-time presidential candidate has vowed to pursue her presidential ambitions, saying she is the target of a "witch hunt".

President Emmanuel Macron's second term ends in 2027, and the presidential election that year is widely seen as 57-year-old Le Pen's best -- and possibly last -- chance to win the country's tob job.

Le Pen warned that the anger of French voters should not be underestimated if she were barred from running, saying such a scenario could render the elections illegitimate.

But she has also asked her top lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 29, to prepare for a run, saying in an interview that he "may have to take up the torch".

Bardella, Le Pen's protege who replaced her as head of the National Rally in 2022, is widely seen as her heir apparent.

The announcement came as French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is widely expected to fall in a confidence vote in parliament later Monday after just nine months in the job, sparking fresh political uncertainty for France.

The far right has called for the dissolution of parliament and new parliamentary elections as it senses its best-ever chance to come to power.

D.Qudsi--SF-PST