France’s far-right National Front named founder Jean-Marie Le Pen’s daughter Marine its new leader yesterday, looking to soften the anti-immigrant party’s image before next year’s Presidential polls.

While sharing many of her father’s hardline views, the 42-year-old blonde brings with her a softer, more telegenic image which the party hopes will give it an electoral breakthrough against President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Polls suggest 17 per cent of French voters might back Marine, not enough to put her in the Elysee Palace in 2012, but enough of a threat to incumbent right-winger Mr Sarkozy to force her agenda into the political debate.

“I consider us as of now to be in an electoral campaign, first for the cantonal elections (local polls in March), and then of course presidential and legislative ones,” she said in televised comments after being named.

As expected, the Euro-MP and National Front deputy leader comfortably beat party rival Bruno Gollnisch to become head of one of Western Europe’s most enduringly influential anti-immigrant movements.

Her 82-year-old father, a one-eyed former paratrooper, founded the party in 1972 and led it until his retirement on Saturday, when he stepped down at the start of its congress in the northern town of Tours.

Under Jean-Marie the party never broke into government, and he was accused of racism and shunned by other movements, but he forced the mainstream right to compete with him on immigration and law and order issues.

In 2002 he sent a shock through the political establishment by coming second in the first round of presidential voting, knocking Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin off the ballot.