Le Pen to respond to police questioning over EU fund misuse after election: lawyer

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen would respond to police questions on alleged misuse of European Union funds after this year's presidential election, Le Pen's defense lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut said on Friday.

"(Le Pen) will comply with any summons after elections. It's not an obstruction of justice but an obstruction to a form of injustice which targeted her at full presidential campaign," Bosselut told BFMTV news channel.

The anti-Europe and migration presidential contender on Wednesday refused to attend police summon over fake job claims.

On Wednesday, Catherine Griset, Le Pen chief of staff was put under formal investigation as part of a probe into the alleged misuse of EU funds.

She was placed into custody along with Le Pen's bodyguard Thierry Legier, who was later released.

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) accused Le Pen of using European Parliament funds to pay her France-based assistant a total of 298,500 euros (316,290 U.S. dollars) between December 2010 and February 2016.

According to European rules, the EU parliamentary aide should work in one of the parliament's three offices in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg.

The far-right leader and European lawmaker, is also accused of paying her bodyguard of 41,554 euros for the October-December 2011 period, according to local reports.

Le Pen, who enjoyed immunity, rejected any wrongdoing and called the affair "a political plot" to take the wind out her sails as she is gaining public support and challenge the country's traditional right and left parties.

An Opinionway survey released on Thursday showed the far-right contender could be at the top of first round election in April with 26 percent against the independent centrist Emmanuel Macron's 23 percent and the conservative Francois Fillon's 21 percent.

However, she would lose to whoever should be her rival in the second decisive round. (1 euro =1.059 U.S. dollar) Endit