French political icon Marine Le Pen appeared in a Paris courtroom on Tuesday to begin an appeal trial that will determine whether she can run in the 2027 presidential election, striking a notably different tone from her combative stance during her initial trial last year.

The 57-year-old leader of the National Rally is seeking to overturn a March 2025 ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds in the hiring of aides from 2004 to 2016. She was sentenced to a five-year ban from holding elected office with immediate effect, four years in prison with two years suspended and two years to be served under house arrest with an electronic bracelet, and a 100,000-euro ($116,800) fine.

"I'd like to tell the court that... we did not feel we had committed any offence," Le Pen told the three-judge panel in a packed courtroom filled with dozens of reporters and members of the public. "We have never concealed anything."

The appeal trial is scheduled to run through February 12, with a verdict expected before summer.

A shift in defense strategy

Le Pen's comments on Tuesday signaled a major departure from the combative approach she took during her initial trial, when she staunchly denied any wrongdoing and accused judges of being politically biased.

"I would like to say to the court right now that if a crime has been committed... so be it, but I want the court to know that we never felt like we had committed even the slightest offense," she said.

Le Pen argued that the European Parliament failed to raise concerns at the time about how her party was hiring assistants. "The European Parliament did not warn us of anything, as it could have done," she said. "Nothing was hidden."

Her position was challenged by Patrick Maisonneuve, the lawyer representing the European Parliament, who rejected claims of inadequate oversight.

"There's a contradiction in saying at the same time: 'I deny you the right to examine the content of my work as a member of parliament' and then saying: 'but the European Parliament didn't conduct a thorough review,'" Maisonneuve told reporters.

The original conviction

In the March 2025 ruling, Le Pen and eight other former National Rally lawmakers were found guilty of using funds earmarked for work at the European Parliament to pay staff who were actually working for the party. The court ruled that Le Pen stood at the center of a "system" intended to divert European Union funds, estimating the losses at about €4.4 million.

The legal proceedings initially stemmed from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities.

Prosecutors argued that some assistants were primarily engaged in domestic political work rather than EU Parliament duties. In handing down the sentence, the judge said Le Pen was at the heart of a system set up to siphon off EU Parliament funds, including to pay for her bodyguard and her chief of staff.

All defendants denied wrongdoing, and Le Pen argued the money was used in a legitimate way. The judge said Le Pen and the others did not enrich themselves personally.

In total, 12 of the 25 defendants convicted in the first trial have appealed, including Le Pen, Louis Aliot, a former MEP and mayor of Perpignan, and the National Rally party itself as a legal entity.

What's at stake for 2027

Le Pen was seen as the potential front-runner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election until last year's ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics. Macron is barred from seeking a third term under France's constitution.

The National Rally is now the largest single political group in France's lower house of parliament. Some 42 percent of French people said they agreed with "ideas defended by the RN," up from 29 percent before the 2022 vote, according to a poll by consultancy firm Verian for Le Monde published Sunday.

Several scenarios are possible from the appeal, ranging from acquittal to another conviction that may bar her from running in 2027. She also could face an even tougher punishment if convicted anew, up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros ($1.17 million). Alternatively, she could be convicted but without a ban from holding office, or the ban could be shortened so that it ends before the presidential vote scheduled for April and May 2027.

If the appeals court upholds the ban, Le Pen would still have one final option: filing an appeal to the Cour de Cassation, France's highest appeals court, which rules only on points of law.

Bardella waiting in the wings

If Le Pen is ultimately prevented from running in 2027, her protégé Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old National Rally party president, is widely expected to step in as her successor.

Bardella publicly rallied behind Le Pen ahead of the trial. Speaking during his New Year address to the press on Monday, he pledged his "total support," warning that it would be "deeply worrying for democracy" if the courts prevented voters from choosing a candidate who has twice reached the second round of the presidential election.

A poll conducted by firm Verian for French publications Le Monde and L'Hémicycle at the beginning of the year found Bardella could prove more electable in 2027. A separate poll in November predicted that Bardella would win the second round of the 2027 elections, no matter who stands against him.

Le Pen took over the former National Front from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011 and has since sought to clean up the party's image. After coming third in the 2012 presidential polls, Le Pen made the runoff in 2017 and 2022 but was beaten by Emmanuel Macron on both occasions.

She stepped down as party president in 2021 to focus on the presidential race, handing the role to Bardella. "Bardella can win instead of me," Le Pen said in December.