MembersMembers of the right-wing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party on Friday overwhelmingly voted in favour of renaming their political camp The Républicains as they tried to put a series of scandals behind them, reports FRANCE 24.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday announced that the name change was official after 83 percent of members voted in favour of it in an electronic poll.
Sarkozy and other top UMP leaders have been marred by legal and financial scandals and are hoping for a new start as they gear up for the 2017 presidential race.
"'The Républicains' is not just a new name for a party. It's a rallying call to all who are distressed to see the Republic decline day after day and who want to stop this decline," Sarkozy said in a message on the party's new website republicains.fr.
Sarkozy, 59, returned to frontline politics last year and is expected to make a new bid for France’s top job in two years’ time.
