Party’s vice-president says he has been ‘ridiculed’ as he announces departure amid tensions with Le Pen after election defeatOne of Marine Le Pen’s key aides has said he is leaving the Front National, raising the prospect of a split in the anti-immigration and Eurosceptic party’s ranks. Florian Philippot, a vice-president of the FN, used an early morning appearance on French television to announce a departure that had looked increasingly likely amid rising tensions with the party’s leader, Le Pen. The man who could make Marine Le Pen president of France Read morePhilippot, who had earlier had his responsibilities for strategy and communications removed by Le Pen, told France 2 television he did not like being sidelined. Philippot is seen as the champion of the FN’s opposition to the euro and pledge to leave the currency, one of the policies believed to have badly damaged Le Pen in the presidential election in May, in which she was beaten by Emmanuel Macron. Le Pen said on Thursday the party would rebuild and said she would continue to campaign against the EU.

Source: The Guardian September 21, 2017 06:58 UTC