Marine Le Pen had tried to suspend her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, after a series of controversial and anti-Semitic statements.POOL/Reuters
A French court on Wednesday annulled a special mail-in vote organized by far-right leader Marine Le Pen to try to end her father's influence on their National Front party by stripping his title of honorary president.
The court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre ruled that the vote by party members, currently under way, represents a breach in party statutes.
The judge said that the mail-in consultation deprived Jean-Marie Le Pen of any means of expression.
It was the second court victory in less than a week for Jean-Marie Le Pen, a co-founder of the National Front, and a setback for daughter Marine, the president.
Last week, the same court reinstated Mr. Le Pen as a member of the party, delivering a biting blow to his daughter, who had tried to suspend him after a series of controversial and anti-Semitic statements.
"I was a victim of aggression on the part of the leadership of the National Front. Justice put things in order," Mr. Le Pen told the iTele TV channel, saying the mail-in vote was "completely totalitarian."
The three-judge panel ordered voting suspended until a general assembly with voters physically present is convened, "in compliance with the current statutes."
The mail-in vote started on June 20 and was set to be concluded on Friday.
The party immediately said it would be appealing the ruling.
A party statement belittled the ruling as "interference preventing the normal functioning of a political party, but also a serious impediment to the most basic democracy."
"Justice seems to use a lot of energy maintaining Jean-Marie Le Pen's ability to undermine the National Front," the party said.
"Adherents will judge the former president of the National Front very harshly."