French politician accuses daughter of destroying party

Paris, April 10: Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder and honorary president of the French right-wing National Front (FN) on Friday accused his daughter Marine, the current FN leader, of giving in to the system and fragmenting the party, Efe news agency reported.

One day after Marine announced that her father must appear before the party executive council to undergo a "disciplinary process", Jean-Marie told RTL radio that he doesn't understand his daughter's actions, and that "Madame Le Pen is blowing up her own party".

Marine Le Pen opted for the punitive procedure due to her father's repeated PR nightmares, most recently when he defended Marshal Pétain, a French leader who collaborated with the Nazis, in a magazine interview.

Jean-Marie said on Friday that he would go to the executive committee to defend himself, and that he would be "likely to attack".

The notoriously anti-Semitic leader speculated that his daughter was carrying out a "deliberate" ploy to attract sympathy and win the favour of the government.

In response to the family feud, Marine Le Pen posted on her official Twitter account: "In this painful moment for the FN, I urge everyone to the unity, decency and mutual respect among patriots."

IANS