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| French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen dies at 96 | French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen dies at 96 |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Jean-Marie Le Pen has died aged 96 | |
| French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen has died aged 96, according to a family statement shared with AFP. | French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen has died aged 96, according to a family statement shared with AFP. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Le Pen - a Holocaust denier and an unrepentant extremist on race, gender and immigration - founded the French far-right National Front party in 1972. | Le Pen - a Holocaust denier and an unrepentant extremist on race, gender and immigration - founded the French far-right National Front party in 1972. |
| He reached the presidential election-run off against Jacques Chirac in 2002. | 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. | 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. |
| Obituary: Jean-Marie Le Pen - founder of French far right and 'Devil of the Republic' | |
| Jordan Bardella, who succeeded Marine Le Pen as party chair in 2022, said Jean-Marie had "always served France" and "defended its identity and sovereignty". | |
| Far-right nationalist Eric Zemmour said on X that "beyond the controversies and the scandals" Le Pen would be remembered for being "among the first to alert France of the existential threats lurking". | |
| Respecting the dignity of the dead and the grief of their family "does not cancel out the right to judge their actions. Those of Jean-Marie Le Pen are unbearable", said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the radical left France Unbowed (LFI). "The struggle against the man is over. That against the hatred, racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism that he spread continues." | |
| 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 2015, he was expelled from the National Rally after repeating an his infamous Holocaust denial. | |
| The dismissal also came during a public feud with his daughter, who accused him of reiterating Holocaust denial to try to "rescue himself from obscurity". |