PARIS, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Far right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen,who placed second in France's 2002 presidential vote, says he'll run again in 2007.
In an interview published Friday in Le Parisien newspaper, 76-year-old Le Pen rebuffed concerns about his age and health, saying he was fit for another try.
"Like all my contemporaries, I benefit from a phenomenon that's underestimated -- a longer life," said the National Front chief, who downplayed an upcoming operation to treat his prostrate cancer.
Le Pen's party captured 17 percent of the vote in the first round of 2002 presidential elections, placing the far right's pugnacious leader in a run off against French President Jacques Chirac.
Chirac carried the elections with 82 percent of the vote in the second round, in what many described as a national referendum against extremism.
The Front's popularity has since dwindled, and the party is now deeply split over its future.
A dissident faction of staunch, Christian conservative members have criticized the rising influence of Le Pen's youngest daughter, Marine, who they believe is too young and too liberal for a leadership position.
One of several Front vice-presidents, the 35-year-old lawyer -- being groomed, some speculate, to replace her father -- is charged with rejuvenating the Front.
In the Parisien interview, Le Pen declined to comment on his daughter's chances of inheriting his job as party leader.
