One of the best-known faces of French politics has passed away. Jean-Marie Le Pen, historic leader and founder of the National Front and figure of the French far right, has died at the age of 96. His family announced that he died in an establishment in Garches (Hauts-de-Seine) where he had been admitted several weeks ago. “Jean-Marie Le Pen, surrounded by his family, was called back to God this Tuesday at noon,” his family said in a statement.
The father of Marine Le Pen, born June 20, 1928 in La Trinité-sur-Mer (Morbihan), notably reached the second round of the presidential election in 2002, before losing to Jacques Chirac. “Deep down, he didn’t want to govern,” believes journalist Serge Moati, who followed “the devil of the Republic” for twenty-five years through documentaries and books.
He gradually withdrew from political life from 2011, when his daughter Marine Le Pen took over the presidency of the party. The founder of the FN had seen his health deteriorate for several years. Prosecuted in the case of assistants to RN MEPs, he did not attend the debates. His case was even “disjointed” after a medical assessment noted “a profound deterioration” in his physical and psychological state. The doctors then estimated that the man who liked to be nicknamed “the menhir” was neither able to “be present” nor to “prepare his defense”.
Scandals galore
If he has become a figure in French politics, the founder of the FN also owes it to his numerous positions which have sometimes led to his being convicted in court. Obsessed by immigration and Jews, he multiplied the outrageous outings. In 1987, he notably declared that the “gas chambers” are a “detail” of the history of the Second World War. Comments for which he was definitively condemned in 2018. But above all the first earthquake in a long series of scandals.
On the social network X, the hashtag #IL EST MORT quickly became viral, becoming one of the trends of the day.
More info to come…