Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s far-right movement, dies

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right movement, has died at the age of 96. 

Le Pen died on Tuesday (7 January) “surrounded by his loved ones”, AFP reported. He had been in a care facility for several weeks.

In a statement posted on X/Twitter, the president of the party Le Pen founded, National Rally, Jordan Bardella, said: “He always served France, defended its identity and its sovereignty. Today, I think with sadness of his family, his loved ones and, of course, of Marine whose mourning must be respected.”  

Jean-Marie Le Pen est mort.

Engagé sous l’uniforme de l’armée française en Indochine et en Algérie, tribun du peuple à l’Assemblée nationale et au Parlement européen, il a toujours servi la France, défendu son identité et sa souveraineté.

Je pense aujourd’hui avec tristesse à…

— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) January 7, 2025

Le Pen once described being gay as a biological anomaly as well as a “personal choice” and said “paedophilia” had its “roots… in the admiration of homosexuality.”

His youngest daughter, Marine Le Pen is one of the most senior figures in National Rally(RN), formerly called the National Front. She is known for her anti- LGBTQ+ and anti-immigrant stance. 

Throughout his political career, Le Pen faced allegations of homophobia, racism and antisemitism. He infamously dismissed the Holocaust as a reality of history and was convicted and fined several times for contesting crimes against humanity, The Guardian reported.

He made it to the second round of the presidential election in 2002, sending shockwaves through France, but was decisively beaten by Jacques Chirac in the run-off.

Marine Le Pen took over the leadership of RN in 2011, kicking her father out of the movement four years later in a bid to distance herself from his past. 

Although RN made strong gains in last year’s European Parliament, the French government remains centre-right. 

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