France's floundering conservative opposition hit new trouble yesterday when the head of the RPR party, founded by President Jacques Chirac 22 years ago, suddenly handed in his resignation in a dispute with the head of state.
Mr Philippe Seguin, a former cabinet minister and speaker of parliament, dropped a political bombshell by announcing he was giving up both his job as president of the Rally for the Republic (RPR) and his place as head of the main conservative ticket running for European Parliament elections in June.
At the Elysee Palace, where the focus is on Mr Chirac's leadership role in the Kosovo crisis, officials expressed "great surprise". One aide said Mr Chirac was "surprised" and "saddened".
Mr Seguin, a talented orator also known for bursts of outspoken anger, was to have headed a joint European election ticket representing both the RPR and the right-wing Liberal Democracy.
In a handwritten statement, Mr Seguin complained that one of Mr Chirac's closest friends, the former minister Mr Bernard Pons, had given de facto support to his Euro-sceptic conservative rivals, while Mr Chirac himself had had talks with his other opponent.
"I clearly have no place any longer at the presidency of the Rally for the Republic, a fortiori at the head of a European ticket that was supposed to defend the policies of the President.
"I have been left in a context where loyalty, clarity and transparency are no longer cardinal virtues," he said.