LONDON

French prosecutors called on an appeals court Tuesday to uphold a five-year ban on far-right leader Marine Le Pen from holding public office over a scandal in which she and her National Rally (RN) party were convicted of embezzling millions in European Parliament funds to pay party staff in France, France 24 reported.

They did not ‌request an immediate ‍enforcement of the sentence over the misuse of EU Parliament funds, however.

"We are going to ask you to largely uphold the criminal liability established in the initial trial, and ineligibility sentences will of course be sought," Prosecutor Thierry Ramonatxo told a Paris court.

In the initial ruling in March last year, Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison, two of them under house arrest with an electronic tag, fined €100,000 ($118,229) and banned from holding public office for five years, effective immediately.

Prosecutors accuse her of orchestrating a scheme to pay National Rally party staff with European Parliament funds between 2004 and 2016 amounting to €4 million.

If upheld, the conviction would bar her from seeking the presidency in 2027.

During the appeal trial from mid-January, Le Pen denied the party had any "system" to embezzle European Parliament funds and said her party acted in "complete good faith.”

The appeal trial wraps up later this month while a verdict is expected this summer.