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Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s far-right National Front party and a controversial figure in French politics, has died at the age of 96.
In the 2002 French presidential election, Le Pen shocked France by entering the second round, and voters strongly voted for his opponent Jacques Chirac to prevent the far right from taking power.
His daughter Marine Le Pen succeeded him as party leader in 2011 and twice reached the second round of the presidential election. She sought to soften the party’s image, renaming it National Alliance and excluding her father from the party.
Le Pen died at noon on Tuesday, her family said in a statement to AFP.
RN President Jordan Bardella confirmed Le Pen’s death in a statement from X.
He paid tribute to the far-right leader, saying Le Pen “always served France, defending its identity and sovereignty”, both as a political leader and as a soldier in the French army in Vietnam and Algeria.
“It is with sadness that I think of his family, his loved ones and, of course, the Marines today, whose condolences must be respected,” he said.
