Jean-Marie Le Pen he died at the age of 96. Historic leader of the French far right, he was the founder of the Front National. He is the father of Marine The Penleader of the Rassemblement National which originates from the FN. The former politician died in a facility where he had been hospitalized for weeks. “Surrounded by his loved ones, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was called back to God today at 12pm,” read a statement from the family.
After graduating from law school in 1953, he joined the Foreign Legion and in 1954 was sent to Indochina. Here he began his political commitment: upon his return he became one of the youngest French deputies. His political rise was marked above all by the foundation of the Front National in 1972, after a further military experience in Algeria, a party through which he tried to bring the far right back into the country’s political arena, promoting a France faithful to its origins. Despite the success and support obtained from a part of the electorate, Le Pen’s career has been punctuated by multiple controversies, often linked to statements that minimized the Holocaust or which were interpreted as expressions of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia. Le Pen, however, he has always denied these accusationspresenting himself as a defender of the identity of “eternal France”.
The relationship between Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter Marine, to whom he passed the baton in 2011, was complex. Especially following the latter’s decision to expel him from the party in 2015 and to rename it “Rassemblement National” in 2018 in an attempt to distance itself from the controversial image linked to its founder. In those years, Le Pen senior had reiterated shocking statements on the Nazi gas chambers considered “a detail” of the Second World War”. This step represented a definitive fracture at both a family and political level.
Despite the controversy, it is undeniable that Le Pen has left a profound imprint on French politicssignificantly influencing the debate on issues such as immigration and national identity. His ability to mobilize the electorate forced political rivals to address the issues he raised, thus changing the political landscape of the country. In recent years, health complications have forced Le Pen to gradually withdraw from public life, although she continued to make her voice heard until her final moments.
His death marks an important chapter for the “Rassemblement National” led by Marine The Penwho now faces the challenge of consolidating the party’s position as the main political force in France, while trying to manage the legacy left by his father. “Beyond the controversies that were his favorite weapon and the necessary comparisons on the merits, Jean-Marie Le Pen he was a personality in French political life – said the French Prime Minister, Francois Bayrou – We understood, fighting him, what a fighter he was”. Emmanuel Macron instead limited himself to recalling “its role in the public life” of France which will be subjected “to the judgment of History”.
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