New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- French far-right leader Marine Le Pen's political future hangs in the balance at an appeals trial in Paris which may damage her party's ambitions of radically changing France's direction through anti-immigration and nationalist policies.

Le Pen started answering the judges' questions Tuesday as she seeks to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds in the hiring of aides from 2004 to 2016.

She was given a five-year ban from holding elected office, two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet and a further two-year suspended sentence.

Here's why the appeals trial could significantly impact France's political landscape:

France's 2027 presidential race is at stake ...