French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said in an interview published Wednesday that she would use all possible legal avenues to stand in 2027 elections despite a ban on her running and hailed the promise of a speedy appeal of her criminal conviction.

In his first reaction to Monday's bombshell judgement, President Emmanuel Macron told members of the government that the French judiciary was "independent" and that "judges must be protected", according to an official present at the meeting.

Le Pen was on Monday given a partly suspended jail term and a fine but, above all, an immediate ban on taking part in elections for five years after being convicted for a scheme at the EU parliament where assistants were actually working for her party.

If it stands, the conviction would eliminate Le Pen from the 2027 election. According to current polling, she would easily win the first round and describes herself as the "favourite" to succeed Macron.

The news sparked shockwaves in France but also in certain quarters around the world, with the likes of President Donald Trump, his........

© International Business Times