Fresh turmoil on French right party

Hopes for a ceasefire in the battle within France's right-wing opposition UMP were dashed yesterday as party chief Jean-Francois Cope rejected plans for a referendum on a new leadership vote.
The interminable struggle -- which has forced ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy to intervene -- looked set to continue after lawmakers loyal to ex-premier Francois Fillon formally broke away from the UMP's parliamentary wing.
The UMP, the political heir to the movement founded by Charles de Gaulle after World War II, has been on the verge of collapse over the dispute, which saw a November 18 leadership vote tarnished by accusations of vote-rigging.
The rival camps appeared to have reached a breakthrough late Tuesday when they agreed to a snap party referendum on whether to hold a new leadership vote.
But Cope backed away yesterday, saying the conditions had not been met for a referendum and that Fillon had crossed the line by forming a splinter parliamentary group.