Intro

The leader of France's far-right National Rally party Marine Le Pen has had her dreams of becoming the president of France thwarted.
 
It comes after a court found her guilty of embezzling European Union funds. She's now been banned from running for political office for five years. 
 
She has the support of Elon Musk, and Donald Trump who publicly backed her after the conviction, and this weekend there's a massive rally planned in Paris in support of her.  So who is Marine Le Pen? 
 
Niall Paterson talks to Sophie Pedder, Paris bureau chief of The Economist who has written a book about Emmanuel Macron and has been reporting on Marine Le Pen for years.  
  
Producer: Natalie Ktena 
Editor: Philly Beaumont