| French Reprieve | Marine Le Pen’s hopes of running for the 2027 French presidency were given a boost after the Paris court of appeals announced yesterday it should be able to rule on a challenge to her conviction by the summer of next year — much sooner than expected. Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement on Monday and given an immediate five-year ban on running for office. Rome Calling | US Vice President JD Vance is planning to visit Italy later this month, as European leaders, including Premier Giorgia Meloni, grapple with how to deal with the seismic foreign-policy changes unleashed by Trump’s administration. Vance has been seen as close to Matteo Salvini, of the right-wing populist League party, who serves as vice premier in the government in Rome. Russia Sanctions | A group of 50 Republican and Democratic US senators introduced a sanctions package to hit Russia and countries that buy its oil if President Vladimir Putin refuses to engage in good-faith ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine or breaches an eventual agreement. The punishments would include a 500% tariff on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas or uranium, according to a draft of the bill we’ve seen. Car Fines | Volkswagen, Renault and Stellantis were among the hardest hit by a package of fines worth €458 million dished out by the EU against carmakers for participating in an illegal cartel for recycling vehicles. A probe revealed that, for over 15 years, 16 major car manufacturers, as well as the European Automobiles Manufacturers’ Association, forged anti-competitive agreements. Mercedes Out | Mercedes-Benz, which avoided the EU fines because it blew the whistle on the cartel, is considering withdrawing its least expensive cars from the US because Trump’s auto tariffs would likely make their sales economically unfeasible, we’ve learned. The German automaker is mulling cutting sales of more entry-level models like the small GLA sport utility vehicle as part of broader tariff contingency plans. | 
