The European Parliament on Tuesday lifted immunity for French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, opening the way for her to face charges for likening the sight of Muslims praying in the street to Nazi occupation during World War II.

The far-right leader, who was present for the vote in the Parliament's chamber in Strasbourg along with her father and National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, told France's BFMTV that the vote was a violation of her freedom of expression.

She said the lifting of her immunity "dishonors the European Parliament," adding "I am a political adversary who is more dangerous than the others because of my results in the polls."

"I will now defend myself in court and I am absolutely convinced that it will rule in my favor and defend my right to tell the French the truth about the situation," she said.

She said that her views were shared by "a majority of French people" and that the lawmakers' vote "will bring to the fore the issue of daily violations against secularism in France."

Prosecutors in Lyon in central France are investigating Le Pen for alleged incitement to racial hatred over the remarks she made in a speech to National Front supporters in 2010.

In the speech she denounced the holding of Muslim prayers in the streets of France, where a dearth of mosques has forced many to pray outside, saying, "For those who like to talk about World War II, to talk about occupation, we could talk about, for once, the occupation of our territory."

"There are no armored vehicles, no soldiers, but it is an occupation all the same and it weighs on people."

First elected to the European Parliament in 2004, Le Pen won 18 percent of the vote in the first round of France's presidential election in 2012, the party's highest-ever score.

The Parliament's judicial committee last month voted with an overwhelming majority in favor of lifting her immunity, a vote that French lawmakers abstained from to avoid any accusation of a political settling of scores.

As with many national parliaments, members of the European Parliament enjoy immunity from criminal and civil liability for opinions expressed as part of their duties. That immunity has been revoked dozens of times in the past.

Her father Jean-Marie Le Pen had his European Parliament immunity revoked in 1998, when he said that Nazi gas chambers were "a detail" in the history of World War II. He has several convictions for racism and anti-Semitism.

AFP