Marine Le Pen re-elected as party leader

lille - Marine Le Pen has been re-elected as party leader of the French right-wing populist Front National. She received 100 percent of the valid votes. The result was announced Sunday on the second day of the party congress in Lille. Le Pen was the only candidate.

The 49-year-old starts a third term as leader of the party. In 2011 she succeeded her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Later on Sunday, Marine Le Pen announces which new name she wants to give to the party. She expects the party with a different name to be seen as a potential government party. The party leader lost the presidential election of Emmanuel Macron last year.

By giving the Front National a new name and adjusting the party course, Marine Le Pen hopes to give its party a more moderate appearance, even though she is a declared opponent of immigration and she has a nationalist agenda. Her father, co-founder of the party, has several convictions to his name for discriminatory and anti-Semitic remarks. His membership of the party has now been withdrawn.