Watch: Marine Le Pen slams guilty verdict as ‘political decision’ after election ban

Marine Le Pen claimed that a court's decision was "political" following its ruling on Monday, 31 March, which banned her from standing for election after she was found guilty of embezzling funds from the European parliament.

The leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) in France was barred from public office for five years, meaning she will not be able to stand for the election in two years.

She was also fined $100,000 and given a four-year prison sentence, of which two years will be suspended and another two served with an electronic tag rather than in custody.

Speaking to TF1 after her conviction, Le Pen maintained she was innocent and vowed to appeal against the ruling.