France: Le Pen set to field new name for far-right party

PARIS – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is set to propose a name change for the National Front, part of a makeover designed to make the anti-immigration party relevant again after she was defeated by Emmanuel Macron in the presidential race.

Le Pen is expected to make the proposal at a party congress in Lille on Sunday and members will vote on it by mail ballot. A new leadership structure and new bylaws are also being unveiled at the two-day congress.

The congress would mark a significant break with Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who founded the National Front in 1972 and has called a name change a "betrayal."

A younger leadership circle will likely emerge, but Marine Le Pen, the only candidate for president, will remain.