A Paris appeals court has found far-right leader Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzlement and ordered that she be placed under electronic monitoring as part of her punishment, a measure that is widely used in France partly to ease prison overcrowding.
Le Pen, however, said she would still run for the French presidency next year despite the verdict, which is allowed under French law. She said she does not expect to wear an electronic bracelet because she believes France's highest court will clear her on appeal before the election.
The Court of Cassation had earlier said it would be able to rule before the presidential election. If Le Pen's appeal fails, she could be required to wear the monitor during the campaign.
France will hold the first round of its next presidential election on April 18. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff will be held two weeks later, on May 2.
Le Pen, 57, had said last week that she would not run for president next year if the appeals court ordered her to wear an electronic monitor. After the ruling, she changed that position and said she believed she would not be subjected to monitoring at all. "We are innocent of the acts we are accused of," she said. "These acts cannot be classified as embezzlement of public funds."
