French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has refused to comply with a summons to meet investigating magistrates over an expenses scandal, her lawyer said Friday, March 3, AFP reports.

Le Pen, who is riding high in the polls ahead of voting in April and May, has written to magistrates probing accusations she misused European Parliament allowances and told them she will not speak to them until after the election, lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut said.

Earlier, the European Parliament lifted Le Pen's immunity from prosecution after she tweeted pictures of so-called Islamic State (IS) violence.