Tony Grist
Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s Front National, now the Rassemblement National, died Tuesday at the age of 96.
Le Pen, a veteran of the Indochinese and Algerian wars, founded the Front in 1972 as a nationalist force in French politics, emphasizing a hard line on immigration. His controversial public statements did not prevent the party from rising to national prominence, himself making it to the presidential runoff against Jacques Chirac in 2002.
Leadership of the Front passed to his daughter, Marine, who expelled him from the party 2015 as part of her effort to improve the party’s image, in which she also renamed the party. Marine Le Pen, who is currently facing charges for embezzlement over the alleged misuse of party funds, is considered a major contender in the 2027 presidential election.
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