Megret barred from public office

Bruno Megret says he will appeal against the sentence

French far-right leader Bruno Megret has been found guilty of illegal party financing and barred from public office for a year.

The head of the National Republican Movement (MNR), was given a one-year suspended sentence and fined 10,000 euros ($12,500).

The court in Marseilles also ordered his party to pay 30,000 euros (37,650).

Megret is appealing against the ruling, and is expected to remain on the ballot for regional elections in March.

He formed MNR after splitting from Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front.

He and his party are both said to be facing massive debt.

If he stands for election it will be in the Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur region.

Megret spoke out earlier this year against the "positive discrimination" that led to a Muslim candidate being selected as a senior government official.