PARIS (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, media reported that French investigators asked the European Parliament to waive Le Pen's parliamentary immunity over the probe concerning fraudulent jobs of her National Front (FN) party assistants.
"It is no wonder that the justice is interfering…. It is all part of a pre-election context," Menard said.
He stressed that the investigation was resumed after two years since it had been launched "immediately before the elections and definitely in order to harm Le Pen and her party."
Earlier in the day, Le Pen said that she was not surprised over the authorities’ attempt to deprive her of the European Parliament’s immunity.
The first round of French presidential election is scheduled for April 23. The run-off between the top two contenders is expected to take place on May 7.
According to recent polls, Le Pen is expected to gain 23 percent of the votes in the first round and face independent candidate Emmanuel Macron in the run-off.