By Juliette Jabkhiro

PARIS (Reuters) -A Paris court ruled on Monday that French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s appeal trial against an embezzlement conviction that barred her from running in the 2027 election will start on January 13, keeping her presidential hopes alive.

The appeal trial is expected to last around five weeks and the verdict is due before the summer in a case that could have a huge impact on the election to succeed President Emmanuel Macron.

The court ruling on the timing came even as Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and other opposition parties were set to defeat Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in a confidence vote on Monday that has presented Macron with a fresh political crisis.

A Paris court convicted Le Pen and some two dozen National Rally (RN) party officials in Ma

See Full Page