Marechal-Le Pen's Retirement May Cost French National Assembly Seats to FN

National Front (FN) party and Marechal-Le Pen's grandfather Jean-Marie Le Pen stated that the departure from the party of Marion Marechal-Le Pen may have negative consequences for the FN.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The decision of Marion Marechal-Le Pen, a French lawmaker from the National Front (FN) party, to quit politics may bode poorly for the party's hopes at the upcoming legislative elections, FN founder and Marechal-Le Pen's grandfather Jean-Marie Le Pen said Thursday.

"In terms of the legislative elections, the departure [of Marion Marechal-Le Pen] is going to have a strong influence. I even fear that there may be negative consequences for the FN, which may not win as many seats as expected in the [National] Assembly. It might cost dearly to Marine [Le Pen]," Jean-Marie Le Pen told Le Parisien newspaper.

Le Pen added that he might have been too harsh in initially branding his granddaughter's departure as "desertion," as after learning her reasoning, mostly related to her personal life, he "began to understand."

According to Le Pen, his granddaughter "with her age, her charisma and her mind, represented future," which was very important for the party.

Marine Le Pen's father also reportedly said that his daughter made certain mistakes during her recent presidential campaign, including failure to involve him.

Marine Le Pen lost to independent Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the election, held on May 7, with 33.9 percent of the votes, against his 66.1 percent.

The two-round legislative election is scheduled for June 11 and June 18.