Jean-Marie Le Pen dies at 96

PARIS (AP):

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, died Tuesday. He was 96.

A polarising figure in French politics, Le Pen made Islam, and Muslim immigrants, his primary target, blaming them for the economic and social woes of France. He also repeatedly denied the Holocaust and was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence.

Despite those convictions and eventually being politically ostracised, the nativist ideas that propelled his decades of popularity – encapsulated in slogans like “French People First” – are ascendant in today’s France, across Europe and beyond.

Le Pen – who reached the second round of the 2002 presidential election that Jacques Chirac went on to win in a landslide victory – was eventually estranged from his daughter Marine Le Pen. She renamed his National Front party, ousted him and transformed it into one of France’s most powerful political forces while distancing herself from her father’s extremist image.

Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, as the party is now known, confirmed Le Pen’s death in a post on social media platform X. Bardella’s unusually warm tribute described Le Pen as a “voice of the people” who “always served France” and expressed condolences to his family.

The post appeared to blur the boundary the rebranded party had sought to establish between its firebrand founder and its more polished, modern direction under Marine Le Pen.

French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, offered his condolences to Le Pen’s family and friends in an uncharacteristically short statement issued by the presidential palace.

“A historic figure of the far right, he played a role in the public life of our country for almost 70 years, which is now a matter for history to judge,” the statement read.

Marine Le Pen, thousands of kilometres (miles) away in the French territory of Mayotte, was inspecting the aftermath of destructive Cyclone Chido at the time of her father’s death.

His death came at a crucial time for his daughter. She is considered a leading potential contender for the next presidential election in 2027, if she’s not banned from running for office in an embezzlement case.

Press in 2024, contributed to this report.