PARIS, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A 74-year-old lawyer will replace France's National Front leader Jean Marie Le Pen, who has been barred from running in March regional elections.
Guy Macary, president of the far-right French party for the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region, will head the Front's electoral list, the party announced Monday. The last-minute reshuffle came a day after Le Pen lost a court bid to be reinstated as top candidate for the southern French region, a stronghold for the anti-immigrant Front party.
Both the court and the regional prefect determined Le Pen, 74, lacked taxpayer status there.
Le Pen finished second in 2002 presidential elections, and polls show the Front remains a formidable force in parts of France, including the Provence area. Le Pen's daughter, Marine, is running for election in the Paris area.
Still, pundits suggest the court ruling may ultimately play into Le Pen's hands -- if the party does badly in regional elections he can blame the French political system instead.
