FRANCE: MEGRET SACKED BY LE PEN скачать в хорошем качестве

FRANCE: MEGRET SACKED BY LE PEN

(10 Dec 1998) French/Nat Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right National Front party on Wednesday sacked his ambitious heir apparent, Bruno Megret, accusing him of inciting rebellion in party ranks. Le Pen's move came only two hours after Megret broke his silence of the past week to defy his boss and demand an emergency party congress to solve their differences. Megret said he will never leave the National Front, neither by resigning nor by being pushed out. The bitter feud that threatens to split the far-right National Front reached new heights Wednesday when party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen dismissed his deputy Bruno Megret. The sacking ended a drawn-out showdown between the two men - sure to please opponents of a party that is widely seen asracist and anti-Semitic, but consistently draws 15 percent of French voters. Le Pen, 70, has been the absolute leader of the party for a quarter-century. In recent weeks his public struggle with the quieter and more pragmatic - though no less ideological - Megret has weakened his hand. At a packed news conference Wednesday, Megret said he would not leave the party. SOUNDBITE: (French) "The National Front belongs to no one person. It belongs to the militants, whatever their position. This initiative is directed against nobody, not against Jean-Marie Le Pen, or whoever else. It is not a putsch, or an operation of dissidence. But a logical, natural and legitimate move." SUPERCAPTION: Bruno Megret, National Front Party Megret demanded an urgent meeting in January of the party's 50,000 or so members nationwide. This prompted Le pen to promptly issue a statement saying Megret was trying to "destabilise the movement." Le Pen's statement read: "The comments he has made (Magret) ... and his call to rebellion justify that I remove him from the position of general delegate". He named Carl Lang, the party's vice-president, as a replacement. The feud between Le Pen and Megret has been obvious for months and is no closer to being resolved, now Megret has been sacked. Megret claims he has the support of the majority of party members and that party organisations in 11 of 22 regions support his call for a congress. Le Pen and Megret share similar ideas; their party is virulently opposed to immigration and to European integration, but the men disagree over how to implement their ideas. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...