Family rift tearing French National Front apart deepens after Jean-Marie Le Pen says ‘it’s possible his daughter may want him dead’ 

• Marie Le Pen has fallen out with her father over his 'extreme views'  
• The 87-year-old convicted racist said Nazi gas chambers 'a detail of history'
• Marine said FN 'doesn't want to be held hostage to his vulgar provocations'
• She will oppose him standing in December poll amid calls for him to resign
• But honorary president Jean-Marie said stepping down is a 'crazy idea'  

The family rift tearing France's National Front apart plunged to new depths today when Jean-Marie Le Pen said his daughter Marine 'may want me dead'.

It follows the 87-year-old honorary president of the far-right party falling out with Ms Le Pen, the current leader, over his extreme views.

She was particularly angry that Mr Le Pen, a convicted racist and anti-Semite, called the Nazi gas chambers 'a detail of history'.

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Outage: Jean-Marie Le Pen angered his daughter when he said Nazi gas chambers were 'a detail of history'

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Anger: The 87-year-old has now said his Marine - the leader of the Front Nationale - 'may want him dead'

But, in response to suggestions he should step down from his position, Mr Le Pen told RTL radio it was a 'crazy idea'.

Mr Le Pen explained: 'The prestige that I obviously still have within the National Front would cause a considerable stir, and a loss of influence for Marine that she probably doesn't gauge.'

He added: 'Marine Le Pen may want me dead, that's possible, but she must not count on my co-operation.'

In an interview on Wednesday, Mr Le Pen flamed allegations of anti-Semitism by praising the wartime leader Marshall Phillippe Petain, who collaborated with the Nazis.

Mr Le Pen also said that France's Spanish-born Socialist Prime Minister was an 'immigrant' and so unfit to run the country.

And he made it clear that he was 'nostalgic' for the days when Algeria, the biggest country in Africa, was French.

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Stubborn: However, Mr Le Pen has refused to step down as honorary president of the far right party

Ms Le Pen took over the National Front (FN) from her father in 2011, and has tried to purge it of its extremists.

Furious with her father's latest outburst, his daughter said she would oppose his candidacy in December elections to lead the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region.

She said his 'scorched earth strategy' of causing maximum public outrage amounted to 'political suicide'.

'The FN doesn't want to be held hostage to his vulgar provocations,' said Ms Le Pen, adding: 'His aim is to harm.'

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Denier: Mr Le Pen is known for his anti-semitic views, and was found guilty of Holocaust denial in 2008

In an interview with Rivarol magazine, Mr Le Pen stood by his gas chambers remark, saying: 'I am not the type of man who changes his mind or crawls.'

In a poll published last year, 83 per cent of French described Mr Le Pen as a handicap to his daughter as she fights to become president in 2017.

The party has enjoyed immense electoral success over the past year, winning 25 per cent of the popular vote in local and European elections a year ago.

Socialist Party leader Jean-Christophe Cambadelis suggesting the in-fighting exposes the true nature of the FN, saying: 'Jean-Marie Le Pen says out loud what many FN leaders, members and even voters think.

'Behind all that lies a political debate: should they keep what sets the far-Right apart or hide it to win elections? Marine Le Pen has chosen to hide it, Jean-Marie to affirm it.' 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3032524/Jean-Marie-Le-Pen-says-Marine-want-dead-Nationale.html#ixzz3Ws3D0U9Y