Le Pen called the court's decision against her political

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French right-wing National Unification party, said on March 31 that the verdict against her was political and aimed at preventing her from being a candidate in the French presidential election.

"This is a political decision," she said on the TF1 TV channel.

Against the background of the verdict, the politician called March 31 a black day for French democracy.

Democracy in agony: Marine Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison.

She will not go to prison, but she will not be able to participate in the elections in 2027.

On March 31, a court in Paris found Le Pen guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds in a case involving the creation of fictitious jobs. She was sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were suspended, and the rest were placed under house arrest while wearing an electronic bracelet. Her lawyer Rodolphe Bossel said he intends to appeal the verdict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the court's decision, said that European countries do not shy away from going beyond democracy during the political process. In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova compared Le Pen's sentencing to the agony of liberal democracy.