Who was Jean-Marie Le Pen? Controversial France far-right leader dies at 96

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the co-founder of France's far-right National Front (now National Rally), has died at the age of 96. He was a highly controversial figure in French politics, often labelled as the far-right bogeyman.

Born in Brittany in 1928, Le Pen's early life was marked by the loss of his father during World War II and his subsequent military service in the First Indochina War and the Algerian War.

Le Pen's political career began in 1956 when he became France's youngest MP at 27. In 1972, he co-founded the National Front, a party promoting national and social policies.

His daughter, Marine Le Pen, later took over the party leadership, eventually expelling him in 2015 due to his inflammatory remarks and political controversies.

Le Pen ran for the French presidency multiple times - in 1974 and again in 1988, 1995, 2002, and 2007. In 2002, he made it to the run-offs, the second round of the presidential elections, ultimately won by Jacques Chirac.

Jean-Marie Le Pen is known for his anti-Semitic remarks. He faced several convictions for xenophobia and racism. His most infamous comments included dismissing the Holocaust as a mere "detail" of history.

Despite his divisive views, French political figures like Prime Minister François Bayrou acknowledged his significant impact on the country's political landscape. Taking to X, Bayrou said, “JM Le Pen will have been a figure of French political life. We knew, by fighting him, what a fighter he was.”