The expulsion of Jean-Marie Le Pen, 87, comes after a family feud with his daughter, Marine Le Pen, the current leader of the party, which reportedly came to a boiling point over his remarks on the World War II when he claimed that the Nazi gas chambers used during the Holocaust were a “mere detail”.
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But the ageing provocateur has shown little interest in going quietly, successfully challenging his suspension in court and barging onto the stage during a major FN rally in May. That December election is meant to kick start her 2017 presidential campaign, a vote in which The Local reports she will not have her father’s support.
He contends that his daughter is changing the National Front’s identity in her bid to offer a political alternative to the French – and doing so with the help of Philippot whose stack of degrees adds special weight to his policies. She and her closest ally, Vice President Florian Philippot, will not attend leaving it up to the other seven members of the executive committee to vote by simple majority on whether or not her father should be excluded.
The former Foreign Legionnaire’s inflammatory speeches had made him the figurehead of France’s far right since he co-founded the FN in 1972.
Le Pen, who brought together several nationalist movements under one party in October 1972, had repeated several anti-Semitic and racist comments on BFM TV last spring, leading to public anger and lawsuits.
Ms Le Pen has said in the past that her father should “no longer be able to speak in the name of the National Front”.
The party statement said that Le Pen would be notified “shortly” of the reasons behind the decision.
The FN had been on something of a roll, having scored unprecedented election results in the past two years, notably coming first in European polls in 2014.
Le Pen handed over power within the National Front to his daughter in 2011, who soon sought to address the party’s reputation.
Jean-Marie Le Pen’s political fate is being decided behind closed doors, and in the absence of his daughter. In the tribunal-like session, the 87-year-old Le Pen defended himself against a list of 15 complaints, all consisting of public statements considered a liability to the new image of the anti-immigration party.
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“I expressed the hope that this episode… can be a step toward the active reunification of the National Front”, he said.
