![[ image: width=150]](/olmedia/260000/images/_261966_lepen.jpg)
Bruno Megret won 86% of the votes in an election for a new president at a special party congress organised by his breakaway group.
But Mr Le Pen, who boycotted the meeting, dismissed the conference as an illegal coup and Mr Megret as a ''psychopath'' who fancied himself as a Napoleon.
The move leaves France with two National Fronts, each determined to put up candidates for the European Parliament elections in June.
And it could start a series of legal battles as the two factions fight over the right to the party's name, insignia, state campaign subsidies and large Paris headquarters.
France's National Front, which is Western Europe's biggest extreme-right party, currently wins about 15% of the vote in national elections.
Leader challenged
The split follows a bitter row between the fiery Mr Le Pen, known for his anti-Semitic and racist remarks, and his one time protege.
Mr Megret, 49, a former party organiser, was kicked out of the National Front in December after calling for a conference to hold a leadership election.
Mr Le Pen branded the move "a putsch and a plot" and refused to attend, saying: "I will not abandon the ship's helm to a handful of perfidious lieutenants and quartermasters."
Mr Megret told about 2,000 followers at the two day meeting that Mr Le Pen - whom he did not specifically name - had effectively withdrawn himself from the leadership.
"A second candidate had asserted himself but he didn't show up and has thus withdrawn probably because he feared the democratic nature of this vote," Mr Megret said. "So be it, we'll make do without him.''
Delegates at the meeting in Marignane, southern France, are also electing a new central committee and political bureau.
Ugly row
The run-up to the split has been marked by an increasingly vitriolic slanging match between the rivals.
Mr Le Pen, 70, who is spending the weekend at home in Paris, accused Mr Megret of being power hungry and repeatedly mocked his modest physical stature.
"Even if it's difficult my friend, try to put your feet on the floor," he said. "There's no dishonour in being small, but there's no point in acting bigger than you are."
Mr Megret declared his former boss had ceased to be a driving force in the party, adding: "Le Pen is a diva who has botched his exit."
Country profiles
The duel on the far-right
(24 Jan 99 | Europe)
Le Pen rejects reconciliation
(24 Jan 99 | Monitoring)
National Front row deepens
(15 Dec 98 | Europe)
France: a haven of intolerance?
(17 Jun 98 | Analysis)
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Violence greets Clinton visit
Russian forces pound Grozny
EU fraud: a billion dollar bill
Next steps for peace
Cardinal may face loan-shark charges
Vodafone takeover battle heats up
(From Business)
Trans-Turkish pipeline deal signed
French party seeks new leader
Jube tube debut
Athens riots for Clinton visit
UN envoy discusses Chechnya in Moscow
Solana new Western European Union chief
Moldova's PM-designate withdraws
Chechen government welcomes summit
In pictures: Clinton's violent welcome
Georgia protests over Russian 'attack'
UN chief: No Chechen 'catastrophe'
New arms control treaty for Europe
Mannesmann fights back
(From Business)
EU fraud -- a billion-dollar bill
New moves in Spain's terror scandal
EU allows labelling of British beef
UN seeks more security in Chechnya
Athens riots for Clinton visit
Russia's media war over Chechnya
Homeless suffer as quake toll rises
Analysis: East-West relations must shift