Allies of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen have accused the judiciary of a witch hunt and undue meddling in democracy after prosecutors requested she face an obligatory five-year ban from public office if convicted of misusing European Union funds.

French prosecutors have asked for prison time and a five-year ban from politics for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, potentially derailing her bid to become president in 2027. Le Pen, her National Rally (RN) party and more than 20 of its members are accused of using European Parliament money to pay staff who were in fact working for RN in France,

France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen has thrown in recent weeks all her energy at a Paris trial into fighting what she calls unfair accusations that her party embezzled European Parliament funds.