PERPIGNAN: French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen waves on stage during a congress of the party in Perpignan, southern France, yesterday. - AFP

PERPIGNAN: Marine Le Pen won re-election as head of France's far-right National Rally (RN) yesterday at a party congress, where she is seeking new impetus for her 2022 presidential bid after performing badly in regional polls. The National Rally (RN), which had been tipped for strong gains in last month's regional elections, was left floundering after failing to win any of the 13 regions in mainland France.

The results raised questions about Le Pen's strategy of trying to detoxify her party's brand and position it as a more mainstream right-wing force. But she faced no challenge for the party leadership, with her quest for a fourth term winning the backing of 98.35 percent of members in an online and postal ballot, RN announced on the second day of its congress in the southern city of Perpignan.

The 52-year-old trained lawyer is expected to use a keynote address later yesterday to try and rally the troops ahead of the presidential vote. Polls show the election coming down to another duel between Le Pen and centrist President Emmanuel Macron, who defeated the anti-immigration candidate handily in the second round of the 2017 election. - AFP