The political scientist spoke about the purpose of the criminal prosecution of Marine Le Pen

The verdict against the leader of the French National Unification Party, Marine Le Pen, is politically motivated and is aimed at preventing her from participating in the next presidential election. This was told to Izvestia on April 1 by political analyst Alexander Asafov.

"The decision has, of course, political overtones and a political character. The main task is not to accuse Le Pen of what she was accused of, but to prevent her from going to the elections, since she enjoys serious support from the electorate," the expert noted.

According to him, there has been a recent trend towards the prosecution of opposition politicians.

"We see similar methods in Romania — the case of Calin Georgescu, the pressure on the Alternative for Germany, the events in Turkey. These are all ways to eliminate competitors who are "dangerous" to the government," the political scientist added.

The day before, 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. The politician's lawyer has already stated that he intends to appeal the verdict.