French right-wing party in row after court invalidate chairman Eric Ciotti's ousting
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00:00Eric Ciotti is all smiles after the Paris court ruled in his favour, against his exclusion
00:06as president of Les Républicains, allowing the highly contested leader to push forward
00:11with his agenda.
00:14Today we have a time frame that has only now been clarified by the courts, but because
00:18we've postponed the possibility of presenting the evidence that will enable the parties
00:22involved to prove their case to eight days, so a week, this means that by that time the
00:28campaign will have already begun.
00:31This court decision is the latest episode in what has been a dramatic week for the right-wing
00:36party in France. After Marine Le Pen made historic gains at the European elections,
00:41Eric Ciotti turned to the far-right National Rally to form a political alliance. A decision
00:46that caused internal uproar, prompting leading members in the party to call for the leader's
00:51immediate resignation.
00:53But these divisions within the Conservative Party could benefit Marine Le Pen in the upcoming
00:58legislative elections.
01:01The strategy of fracturing the right is helping the National Rally. Eric Ciotti is playing
01:06the game because he has a personal interest. He may want to be a minister for the National
01:11Rally and he also wants to win the municipal election in Nice, which he won't be able to
01:16do without the National Rally.
01:21On Friday evening, a statement from Les Républicains said the party would be appealing the court's
01:26decision.