Le Pen elected parliamentary leader for National Rally party

French far-right politician Marine Le Pen was elected parliamentary leader of her National Rally party on Thursday, the group announced, following legislative elections last weekend.

Le Pen had handed over the party's chairmanship to Jordan Bardella ahead of this year's presidential election, in which she lost to President Emmanuel Macron during the run-off.

Bardella plans to take over the top post permanently.

The National Rally won 89 of the 577 seats in Sunday's parliamentary election - a huge increase on its previous eight seats, indicating that Le Pen's efforts to strike a more moderate stance and play down the party's extremist image had paid off.

The daughter of the party's extreme right-wing founder Jean-Marie Le Pen had renamed the party from National Front to National Rally.

The right-wing party is now the strongest opposition faction in the National Assembly, ahead of the Left Party and centre-right Les Républicains.