The Kremlin on Monday slammed a French court's ruling to bar far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for office for five year as a demonstration of Europe's politically-motivated "violation" of democratic norms, APA reports citing AFP.
Le Pen has long faced accusations of being too close to the Kremlin, of advancing Russian narratives and of relying on Moscow for political and financial support.
A French court barred her from running for office for five years after she was her convicted over a fake jobs scheme, throwing into doubt her bid to stand for president in 2027.
When asked about the court's decision on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "More and more European capitals are going down the path of violating democratic norms."
"We do not want to interfere in France's internal affairs and we have never done so," Peskov said.
"But our observation of European capitals shows that they do not shy away from stepping outside the bounds of democracy in the political process," he added.
A French parliamentary report, published in June 2023, denounced what it called the "long-standing" link between Le Pen's National Rally party and Russia.
It also criticised "frequent contacts" between party figures and Russian officials and described the outfit as a "communication channel" for Moscow.
Le Pen denounced the report as "dishonest" and "politicised."
