France’s far-right Front National political party has put the blame of its defeat in last month’s regional elections on a particularly unflattering selfie featuring its founder Jean-Marie Le Pen.

According to French magazine Public, professional dancer Brahim Zaibat took a selfie with Le Pen, who was seated ahead of him on a flight and was asleep. Zaibat then shared the selfie on his Facebook page a day before the second round of the regional elections in December. He included the caption, “Knock out [the National Front] tomorrow by going to vote. Preserve our fraternal France!!! #Iloveit.”

The following day, the party succumbed to an abysmal defeat in the second round of polling, after faring well in the first round. Le Pen has now claimed the selfie “harmed his image and was instrumental in the defeat of the party”. The 87-year-old politician has demanded 50,000 euros in damages and a public apology from Zaibat for his act. The picture has nearly 200,000 likes and more than 30,000 shares on Facebook.