Green politician Eva Joly says she intends to appeal the court’s decision to slap her withe the suspended fine, according to newswire AFP. Judges in Paris ruled that Joly had been “careless making such a statement in public, without solid proof and without checking her facts”, daily Le Monde reports.

Joly was also condemned to pay Douillet one euro in damages and €3,000 in legal costs.

In 2009, Joly accused the Sports Minister of holding accounts in Liechenstein during a debate on tax havens. She insists she was quoting a newspaper at the time.

However, the court ruled that as a former judge she should have been aware she was not allowed to make such allegations without proof. But her lawyer William Bourdon says a suspended fine means the judges did not think the incident was very serious.

The ruling is not good news for Joly, whose campaign has been erratic in recent weeks. She however insisted she would not be “destabilised” by the court’s decision.