The party itself and marine Le Pen, of course they deny all this. Its going to be a long trial, a couple of months as they go through all the evidence. At the end of it, though, whats crucial and why this trial matters is that it is marine Le Pen s political future which is very much at stake. Why . Because one of the potential penalties she could suffer if shes found guilty is an ineligibility for office. She could be banned from standing for public office for a period of, say, five years. And that would mean she couldnt stand in the next president ial election in 2027. Marine Le Pen is Riding High right now in french politics. Her party did very well in the last elections. It can make or break this Sitting Government of michel barnier. Her next step is this bid for the presidency again in 2027. But if this guilty verdict, if its a guilty verdict and it ends in an ineligibility for office, that obviously means that that plan is up in smoke, and she will need urgently a plan b. We have
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav gallant said the military is prepared to use forces from the air, Land And Sea to allow thousands of displaced israelis to return to their homes in the north. Mr gallant also said the next phase of the war against Lebanons Hezbollah will begin soon and that the killing of hezbollah S Leader was not the final step. Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief of hezbollah, naim qaissem, said the groups fighters are ready to confront an invasion. He acknowledged that Hassan Nasrallah s assassination was a big blow but said all fallen commanders would soon be replaced. We are hearing the British Government has chartered a flight for vulnerable british citizens. Presidentjoe biden maintained his call for an end to fighting. Weve also heard from the us department of defense. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh spoke to the bbc about the conflict in the last hour. What doing along the Northern Border is conducting limited operations to dismantle Hezbollah Infrastructur