French far-right leader Marine Le Pen's right-hand man stormed out of the party on Thursday as simmering tensions over the National Front's election defeats this year burst into the open.

Florian Philippot, architect of the National Front's pledge to quit the euro and detoxify its brand, announced his departure after Le Pen bowed to pressure to push him towards the exit.

"Listen, I don't like being ridiculed, I've never liked having nothing to do, so sure, I'm quitting the National Front," the 35-year-old, who had been one of the party's two vice presidents since 2012, told France 2 television.

Philippot said the debate within the FN about a shift away from his focus on economic nationalism back to its traditional priorities of immigration and French identity were "a terrible backward slide".

"I saw how things were developing negatively these past weeks, that maybe I wouldn't have a place in the project," he said. Le Pen said she was "not overjoyed about Florian leaving" but assured: "The Front will get over it, no problem."

Source: Khaleej Times