FILE PHOTO: Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, speaks during a news conference in Tallinn, Estonia May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) – French far-right politician and former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen will face trial over publishing images of Islamic State atrocities on Twitter in December 2015, a judicial source said on Wednesday.
She had tweeted the images after some French media carried comments comparing her National Front party – now renamed National Rally – to Islamic State.
Lawyers for Le Pen could not be reached for comment. Le Pen has said before that legal proceedings against her are a form of political interference.
Le Pen’s party rode a wave of nationalist sentiment to win the most votes in France’s election to the European Parliament last month. [nL8N2320NU]
Le Pen, whose immunity to prosecution as a parliament member was lifted in 2017 so she could be investigated over the Twitter images, could face a fine of up to 75,000 euros and three years in prison.
The judicial source did not say when the trial would take place.
Reporting by Simon Carraud; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Alison Williams