French Far-Right Politican Jean-Marie Le Pen Dies At 96
Jean-Marie Le Pen, a far-right French politician who repeatedly played down the Holocaust and was an unrepentant extremist on race, gender and immigration, has died aged 96.
Le Pen, who had been in a care facility for several weeks, died at midday on Tuesday “surrounded by his loved ones”, the family said.
French President Emmanuel Macron described Le Pen as a “historic figure of the far right”, adding that “history will judge” his role in the country’s political life.
Le-pen founded the French far-right National Front party in 1972. He reached the presidential election-run off against Jacques Chirac in 2002.
Le Pen’s daughter, Marine, took over as party chief in 2011. She has since rebranded the party as National Rally, turning it into one of France’s main political forces.
For several decades, Le Pen was France’s most controversial political figure. His critics denounced him as a far-right bigot and the courts convicted him several times for his radical remarks.
In a notorious interview in 1987, he pointedly played down the Holocaust – Nazi Germany’s murder of six million Jews.
