Le Pen proposes far-right rebrand

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen proposed changing the name of her party to the National Union as part of efforts to improve its image after she was re-elected for a third term as leader.

The study also examined the speech of other right-wing populist politicians, such as France's Marine Le Pen. Source: AAP

Marine Le Pen announced a proposed name change at a party conference in northeast France, arguing that the party needed to drop its historic name of the National Front (FN) which has been used since 1972 when it was co-founded by her father Jean-Marie.

The switch is meant to signal a new beginning and a decisive break from the toxic legacy of Jean-Marie, a former paratrooper who has a long history of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks.

He was finally banished from the party on Sunday, marking the final act in a vitriolic and highly personal power struggle between him and his daughter who took over the party in 2011.

Le Pen said the National Front name was "associated with a glorious and epic history that no one can deny" but she said it was also an impediment that prevented the party winning power in elections.

"For a lot of French people, even those who are sincere, it's a psychological barrier," Le Pen said. 

Her efforts to distance the party from its association with racism were dealt an immediate blow, however, when the deputy leader of the National Front youth movement was suspended for offensive remarks. 

Davy Rodriguez, who is also a parliamentary assistant for the party, was filmed verbally abusing a bouncer at a bar in Lille during a drunken late-night argument on the eve of the party conference.

He was suspended on Sunday in a decision that was approved by Le Pen, a party source told AFP.

Rodriguez admitted to an argument but told the Buzzfeed website that the video was a fabrication. 

Name debate

Le Pen's bid to change the party's name does not have unanimous support at the grassroots level and has been heavily criticised by Jean-Marie, who sees it as an attack on his legacy.

The party canvassed 51,000 members last year about whether it should change its name and on Saturday it emerged that just 52 percent had voted in favour among the 30,000 who responded.

That compared with 90 percent of respondents wanting a referendum on continued EU membership and 98 percent wanting to cut immigration to France.

National Front members are to be asked to vote via postal ballot on the proposed National Union name and Le Pen has promised to abide by their decision, which will be made public in six weeks' time.