Jean-Marie Le Pen, Founder of France's Far-Right Party, Dies at 96

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder and former leader of France's far-right party, previously known as the National Front, passed away on Tuesday, January 8, at the age of 96. He was a controversial figure in French politics, having been tried and convicted multiple times for anti-Semitism, discriminatory remarks, and incitement to racial violence. Despite this, his extreme nationalist positions, including his famous slogan 'French first,' have not only persisted but gained greater acceptance in France, other European countries, and beyond over the past decade. In the 2002 presidential election, he advanced to the second round with a significant percentage of the vote, ultimately losing to Jacques Chirac. Following that, leadership of the National Front passed to his daughter, Marine Le Pen. Her efforts to soften the party's controversial and hostile image led to a cooling of her relationship with her father, but she succeeded in transforming the National Front into one of the main political parties. The party has recently changed its name to National Rally, and Marine Le Pen was the main opponent of Emmanuel Macron in the last two presidential elections. Jordan Bardella, the young leader of the National Rally, who has been in charge for about two years, confirmed Jean-Marie Le Pen's death on social media, describing him as 'the voice of the people and a lifelong servant of France' and expressed condolences to his family. Emmanuel Macron also extended his condolences in a brief message from the French presidential office, stating: 'He was a historical figure of the far-right and played an important role in the social life of the country for about 70 years, which history will judge.' At the time of her father's death, Marine Le Pen was thousands of kilometers away from Paris, visiting areas affected by Cyclone Chidero in Mayotte, a French overseas territory. She is still considered the main figure of the National Rally and faces serious legal accusations, including fraud in managing her party's finances, which could lead to imprisonment and disqualification from holding political office if proven. Jean-Marie Le Pen, who fought as a member of the paratrooper units of the French army and the French Foreign Legion in the country's colonial wars in Indonesia and Algeria, was a shrewd politician and charismatic speaker who could rally his supporters. In a speech in 1990, he told his followers: 'If I advance, follow me; if I die, avenge me; and if I deviate, kill me.' Mr. Le Pen was born on June 20, 1928, into a fishing family in the Brittany region of northwestern France. He led the National Front from 1972 to 2011 and ran for the French presidency five times during those four decades. He considered himself the savior of 'real France for the French.' Although in recent decades his main targets were Muslim immigrants and Islam, in previous decades he repeated anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, hostility against sexual minorities, and even advocated for the detention of AIDS patients in camps in his speeches.