Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the far right in France for many years, died at the age of 96 on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. More than a decade ago, he handed over the leadership of his own party to his daughter Marine Le Pen.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of the French National Front, died at the age of 96. The French daily informs about it. A native of the small port town of La Trinité-sur-Mer, he is the father of far-right politician Marine Le Pen.
The French media refer to Le Pen as one of the most controversial political figures of contemporary France – “the devil of the republic”. He retired from active political life in 2015, when he was expelled from his own party, the National Front.
However, the right-wing radical continued to fight against immigration and divided society with his own statements. His opponents perceived him as a racist, xenophobe or anti-Semite.
He could not defeat Chirac
During his political career, he ran for president five times. It was in 1974, 1988, 1995, 2002 and 2007. Only in 2002 did he advance to the second round, but was ultimately defeated by Jacques Chirac.
He was a member of the French Parliament for many years, and the French repeatedly elected him to the European Parliament. He was often criticized for his statements.
He was born in La Trinité-sur-Mer in 1928 to a fisherman and seamstress family. His father was later killed by a German mine explosion off the Breton coast.
Already in his teenage years, he became politically active. He studied law in Paris, earning occasional income as a fisherman, miner or surveyor. He organized the recruitment of young people for the army. “The army was the only period of his life when he received orders,” Le Figaro quotes one of his aides, Lorrain de Saint-Affrique.
Active even in old age
He first became a member of the French Parliament in 1956. He blamed multiculturalism and uncontrolled immigration for the decline of France.
In 1972, he founded the political party National Front. In 2011, he handed over the leadership of the party to his daughter Marine Le Pen, who still leads it. Before the disease cut off Le Pen from the surrounding world, he still had time to write his memoirs.
