French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has proposed changing her party’s name from Front National (National Front) to Rassemblement National (National Rally).
Le Pen announced the rebranding plan during a members’ conference in the northern town of Lille on Sunday, saying the party - founded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 1972 - needed a name that “supported the nation”, as part of a “wider makeover”.
“We were originally a protest party,” she said. “There should be no doubt now that we can be a ruling party.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The idea of changing the party’s name was only approved by a narrow majority of National Front members at the conference, at 52%, says France 24.
All party members will now have the chance to take part in a postal vote to have their say, according to Reuters.
Le Pen, who became leader of the National Front in 2011, has already expelled her father from the party over his Holocaust denial, but “wants to take further steps to shake off the stigma of the party’s xenophobic past before the 2019 European Parliament election”, reports Politico
Her father has described the prospect of a name change as “political suicide”.
Meanwhile, critics have pointed out that the new name, National Rally, bears a striking similarity to the National Popular Rally, a French group that advocated collaborating with the Nazis during the Second World War.
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
The Louvre’s security measures are in hot water after a major heistIn the Spotlight Millions of dollars in jewels were stolen from the museum
-
France’s ‘red hands’ trial highlights alleged Russian disruption operationsUNDER THE RADAR Attacks on religious and cultural institutions around France have authorities worried about Moscow’s effort to sow chaos in one of Europe’s political centers
-
The WW2 massacre dividing Senegal and FranceUnder the Radar A new investigation found the 1944 Thiaroye attack on ‘unarmed’ African soldiers was ‘premeditated’, and far deadlier than previously recorded
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Prime minister shocks France with resignationSpeed Read French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu submitted his government’s resignation after less than a month in office
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
