French far-right figure Jean-Marie Le Pen has launched a new political group following his expulsion from the National Front (FN) party.
On Sunday, Le Pen announced his decision to create a new party called “Rassemblement Bleu-Blanc-Rouge” (Blue-White-Red Rally) after the colors of the French flag.
“You will not be orphans in the Blue White Red Rally … We can act in a similar way to the FN, even if we are not part of it,” the octogenarian politician said in an address to his supporters in the French city of Marseille.
On August 20, the executive committee of the National Front removed Le Pen from his position as the party’s honorary president over his sharp criticisms of his daughter, Marine, the current FN leader.
"The Front National and Marine Le Pen will not be able to refuse our move,” he said.
Meanwhile, Marine dismissed his father’s move to set up a new political organization, but stressed that he can do what he wants to as “a free man.”
"Everyone is free outside the National Front to create any group he wants. This poses no problem," she said.
Jean-Marie, notorious for his racist and xenophobic remarks, has been a staunch critic of his daughter’s policy as the FN’s president.
This is while, Marine, who took over the FN from her father in 2011, accuses the 87-year-old of committing “political suicide” over his racist remarks, saying she has been struggling to improve the image of the party, tarnished for years due to Jean-Marie’s unacceptable stance.
Back in April and in the latest in a string of his controversial comments, Jean-Marie called on the French government to form a united front with Russia to save the “white world.”