Berlin called Marine Le Pen's sentence a blow to democracy

A member of the Berlin Senate, Gunnar Lindemann, in an interview with Izvestia on March 31, commented on the verdict handed down to the leader of the French parliamentary National Unification Party, Marine Le Pen. According to the expert, this decision indicates that the European Union (EU) is moving towards dictatorship, and real democratic standards look completely different.

"This is a scandal, and it has nothing to do with democracy anymore. This is a dictatorship from Brussels that is trying to intimidate the population of individual European countries. Where there are Eurosceptic sentiments in society and parties critical of the EU gain a majority, interfere through pseudo—judicial processes and make decisions prohibiting leading candidates from participating in elections," he said.

He also noted that Le Pen holds a leading position in the polls and is significantly ahead of the other candidates. This causes fear among the French establishment and, especially, among the EU, since its victory could lead to a split in the European Union. The court decision is aimed at preventing Le Pen from participating in the elections, which only underscores concerns about the possible disintegration of the EU if she succeeds, Lindemann said.

"What is happening here is a real scandal, and it has nothing to do with democracy. The EU is moving towards dictatorship, and democratic standards look completely different. In Germany, we, as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, will continue to fight for the preservation and protection of democracy in our country. We will continue to defend the protection of our Basic Law, our Constitution in Germany. We will not allow Brussels to dictate its terms to us," the expert concluded.

On March 31, Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison and five years in prison. It clarifies that the sentence must be executed "immediately." She is accused of embezzlement of public funds.

On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that European countries do not shy away from going beyond democracy during the political process.