London | France’s centre-right collapsed into turmoil on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) as the mainstream Republicans party ejected its chairman, who had called for an electoral pact with the hard-right National Rally.

The internecine feud recalls the years of post-Brexit turmoil within Britain’s Conservative Party, as centre-right parties across Europe struggle with the threat from populists on their right flank. The civil war has the potential to reshape the right.