The party itself and marine Le Pen, of course they deny all this. Its going to be a long trial, a couple of months as they go through all the evidence. At the end of it, though, whats crucial and why this trial matters is that it is marine Le Pen s political future which is very much at stake. Why . Because one of the potential penalties she could suffer if shes found guilty is an ineligibility for office. She could be banned from standing for public office for a period of, say, five years. And that would mean she couldnt stand in the next president ial election in 2027. Marine Le Pen is Riding High right now in french politics. Her party did very well in the last elections. It can make or break this Sitting Government of michel barnier. Her next step is this bid for the presidency again in 2027. But if this guilty verdict, if its a guilty verdict and it ends in an ineligibility for office, that obviously means that that plan is up in smoke, and she will need urgently a plan b. We have