French populist Marine Le Pen has reportedly ousted several prominent social conservatives from the National Rally’s (RN) inauguration committee ahead of French regional elections.
The reshuffle sees six members removed from the National Inauguration Committee, around a quarter of the total members, many of them well-known as being socially conservative.
Among those ousted is lawyer Gilbert Collard, who served as one of the party’s few MPs in the French parliament prior to the 2017 national elections. He resigned as MP last year after being elected to the European Parliament.
Mr Collard told French newspaper Le Figaro: “I will resign from the national office (the party leadership). The letter leaves tomorrow. That way, they won’t have to fire me.”
He later stated that Ms Le Pen had given him a new role, to shape the cultural component of her presidential campaign in 2022.