PARIS (AP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen acknowledged “a mistake” on Wednesday at an appeals trial hearing in Paris that could derail her presidential ambitions , but firmly denied accusations she was at the center of a fraudulent system to siphon off European Union funds. Le Pen, 57, is seeking to overturn a March 2025 ruling that found her guilty of misusing EU Parliament funds in the hiring of aides from 2004 to 2016. She acknowledged some people paid as EU parliamentary aides