France court returns Jean-Marie Le Pen to far-right FN
His suspension from party he founded cancelled, which might relaunch feud with his daughter Marine who leads FN now.
A French court has cancelled politician Jean-Marie Le Pen ‘s suspension from the far-right National Front (FN) party which he founded.
By pushing her maverick father out of the party he established four decades ago, Marine Le Pen was seeking to prevent him ruining her bid for power.
However, her 86-year old father went to the courts to be reinstated in the party. The ruling might relaunch a public feud with his daughter.
“Mr. Le Pen can from tomorrow morning … start using his office again and all the means that were at his disposal and sit in all the bodies in which he was taking part as honorary president,” lawyer Frederic Joachim told local media.
The crisis at the FN erupted in April when father Le Pen reiterated past comments that the Nazi gas chambers were a mere detail of history, and defended Philippe Petain, the war-time leader who cooperated with Nazi Germany.
Nonetheless, FN deputy leader Florian Philippot played down any consequences from the ruling, saying party members were in any case being consulted on cancelling the honorary president title in an on-line vote that closes on July 10.
“No one thinks that he speaks in the name of the FN any more anyway,” he told BFM TV.
Asked if he still had support within the party, Philippot laughed and said there was unanimity behind Marine Le Pen.
The 86-year-old Le Pen has vowed to disown his daughter for leading the suspension move last month.