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France: Megret outmanoevers Le Pen

01 January 1999

The bitter rivalry between the factions supporting Front National (FN) chairman Jean-Marie Le Pen and his deputy, Bruno Megret, which erupted into open warfare last December, has split the fascist party with both men claiming to have the support of its membership. Within hours of Megret's challenging Le Pen's authority - "inciting rebellion and destabilising the movement" in the FN leader's words - he was demoted to a minor role in the party only to later be reinstated by the French courts.

In late December Le Pen formally expelled Megret at a national executive disciplinary hearing at the party headquarters in Paris. Megret, who refused to attend the meeting, described the expulsion as "null and void", and said that he would ignore it and proceed to call an emergency congress; six other senior party officials were expelled along with Megret. In the new year the warring FN factions went to court to fight over the right to use the party's name. On 15 January the Tribunal de Grande Instance ruled that Megret's expulsion was illegal and that he had the same right as Le Pen to use name. The outcome also gave legitimacy to Megret's plans for an emergency congress in his stronghold of Marignane near Marsailles.

The emergency congress took place over the weekend of January 23-24 and was attended by 2000 Megret supporting delegates. Billed as the FN's eleventh congress, it unanimously overthrew the expulsions ordered by Le Pen. Le Pen refused to attend and rejected the legitimacy of the meeting claiming that its organisers were no longer party members. The congress ended with the foundation of the Front National-Mouvement National, created in case future court decisions allow Le Pen to keep the original party name. It also elected Megret as president and, in a calculated insult to Le Pen, appointed him "honorary president" in mocking recognition of his "historic role".