This is the moment a one-year-old baby opened her eyes for the first time after doctors in France threatened to cut her life support.

Marwa Bouchenafa, of Algerian descent, was placed into a medically induced coma in September after a virus threatened her body and brain.

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But after doctors at the Timone Hospital in Marseille began to doubt whether she would recover again, due to the neurological damage she had suffered, they recommended to her parents that she was taken off life support.

But her father Mohamed Bouchenafa refused to end his daughter's life and fought the hospital to have her window extended.

He started a petition to keep her alive and, within days, gained the support over 115,000 people. With the petition in hand, Bouchenafa took the fight to fight to court and begged for more time, where a judge granted him two more months.

Ten days later, she opened her eyes for the first time since contracting the illness.

However, her condition remains critical and doctors are still threatening to take Marwa off life support if significant improvement is not made shortly.

In a new petition asking for another extension, Bouchenafa said "Marwa's life support may be disconnected and they may end her life, despite the progress and visible improvement she has made since admission.

"She is conscious, moving and recognises us.

"She needs time to succeed in breathing by herself, because she suffered heavy treatments that have not borne fruit, including eight consecutive plasmapheresis sessions, which visibly exhausted her.

"Thank god she clung on to get better and better, however, doctors think she will never breathe on her own and they feel this is sufficient reason to disconnect within a week.

"We're asking for more time. At least one more month to see if her condition continues to improve. Marwa gives us hope every day from better improvement. She just needs time."

The family's petition can be found here. They are also appealing for medical experts in Enteroviruses to come forward.