By NICOLAS MARMIE Associated Press Writer

VERSAILLES, France (AP) -- An appeals court today upheld the conviction of

far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen but reduced his punishment -- banning him from

politics for one year instead of two for assaulting a Socialist politician.

The court also upheld a three-month suspended sentence, and ordered Le Pen to pay

a reduced fine of $900. He had originally been fined about $3,300.

The ruling means Le Pen, 70, cannot hold office, run for office, or vote for a year.

That makes him ineligible to run in the June 1999 European Parliament elections.

Le Pen has said his wife, Jany, would run in his place -- a position that put him on a

collision course with the National Front's No. 2 man, Bruno Megret.

Le Pen was not present at today's court hearing.

Samuel Marechal, a party official and Le Pen's son-in-law, called the ruling

``scandalous.''

``The system has invented a jurisprudence specifically for Jean-Marie Le Pen,''

Marechal said. ``But nothing will prevent Jean-Marie Le Pen from standing in

France's final battle, the presidential elections in 2002.''

The National Front has consistently won about 15 percent of the vote in national

elections. It blames immigrants, particularly from North Africa, for high

unemployment and urban violence. It has been widely accused of racism and

anti-Semitism.

Le Pen could lodge a final appeal with the Cour de Cassation, France's highest

court, but has not decided whether to do so, his lawyer said.

Le Pen was convicted in April of assaulting Annette Peulvast-Bergeal, a Socialist

opponent of his daughter in the race for parliament, at a 1997 election rally in the

town of Mantes-La-Jolie, west of Paris.

Television footage showed Le Pen shoving Ms. Peulvast-Bergeal in the chest during

a scuffle with protesters. But Le Pen denies he attacked her.

Ms. Peulvast-Bergeal said she was ``satisfied'' by today's ruling.

``Le Pen remains condemned and this condemnation brings him to a halt,'' she said.

In an interview published today in the daily Le Parisien, Le Pen said his career

would not be over if his conviction were upheld.

``Whatever happens, I am and will remain head of the National Front,'' he was

quoted as saying.

``I have no regrets, except for having fallen into an ambush,'' he added. He called on

his supporters to protest if his conviction were upheld.

Le Pen holds a seat in the European Parliament and is a regional counselor in the

Provence-Alpes-Cotes d'Azur region of southern France.

Last month, the European Parliament voted to lift his parliamentary immunity so

German prosecutors could investigate whether he broke laws that make trivializing

the Holocaust a crime.

The charges came from comments he has made several times, saying the Nazi gas

chambers were a ``detail'' of history.

AP-NY-11-17-98 0901EST