France's Le Pen Denied Regional Campaign

[Flagg]

France's Le Pen Denied Regional Campaign
Sun Feb 22, 5:12 PM ET


MARSEILLE, France - Far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen cannot run for a regional council seat in southern France because he has not proved he is a resident, a French court ruled Sunday.




Sunday's ruling by the administrative court in Marseille was final. Le Pen lives outside Paris but listed a campaign office in Nice as another home to gain residency in the region.


Le Pen had hoped to run for president of the Provence-Alpes-Cotes d'Azur council in the elections March 21 and 28. Now the National Front will be forced to find another candidate.


Ruling on an appeal by Le Pen, three judges said Sunday that the rent contract for the space specified it was an office, not a home. The judges also noted it was furnished for professional use.


Many of Le Pen's critics believe the anti-immigration National Front orchestrated the affair to make it look as though French officials were persecuting him. They say that Le Pen, who founded his party in 1972, should have known the rules by now.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040222/ap_on_re_eu/france_le_pen_1

[mobuto]

1. Not fair for LePen

Le pauvre has to follow the same rules as everyone else? Incroyable. Too bad Cheney didn't have to follow this rule in 2000, when he rediscovered his Wyoming heritage.