Le Pen’s niece quits in blow to far right
FRANCE’S far-right National Front sought yesterday to paper over internal divisions exposed by the withdrawal of one of its most high-profile figures, the telegenic niece of leader Marine le Pen.
Marion Marechal-Le Pen, 27, said she would give up her seat in parliament as well as her position as opposition leader on the council for the southern Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region, a bastion of the far right.
The withdrawal deals a blow to the anti-immigration party as France gears up for legislative elections next month, when the FN hopes to become the leading opposition force.
Marechal-Le Pen, the divorced mother of a toddler, said she was leaving politics indefinitely to spend more time with her family and to work in the private sector.
Le Pen sought to play down the decision, tweeting: “As a political leader I deeply regret Marion’s decision, but alas, as a mother, I understand.”
The legislative elections will determine France’s new political landscape after both the traditional left and right were sidelined from the presidential race and Le Pen was roundly defeated by centrist Emmanuel Macron.
Marechal-Le Pen had been seen as an asset in the FN’s bid to attract support from the traditional right wing whose scandal-hit candidate Francois Fillon – like her, a devout Catholic – crashed out in the first round.
Relations have long been strained between Marechal-Le Pen and her aunt, who has worked to attract a wider base by softening the party’s image and jettisoning its anti-gay and anti-abortion positions.