Once called the 'most hated man in France', Le Pen maintained that his ideas were simply 'ahead of their time'

Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of Marine Le Pen and the defining figure of France’s postwar far-right movement, has died at the age of 96, according to French network BFMTV.

For years, the far-right National Rally tried to distance itself from Mr. Le Pen’s racist and antisemitic remarks. But after his death Tuesday, it hailed him as a visionary.

The church Notre-Dame du Val de Grace, in Paris, has been the scene of the tribute with a religious ceremony to the founder of the French National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died last Tuesday at the age of 96.

Le Pen, the founder of France's notoriously antisemitic and xenophobic National Front party, has died at the age of 96.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s main far-right party and a polarizing figure in French politics, is being buried in a private family ceremony in his hometown of La Trinité-sur-Mer in Brittany.

By founding the National Front in 1972 — which has since been rebranded and is led by his daughter Marine Le Pen — Jean-Marie Le Pen ushered in a new brand of extreme-right politics. His legacy remains embedded in some of today’s dominant political parties.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French far-right nationalist party formerly known as the National Front and a controversial force in the country's political life for decades, has died aged 96. President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday issued a terse acknowledgement of Le Pen's significant role in France's post-war society - but withheld any further assessment of his legacy.

JEAN-Marie Le Pen, the nationalist founder of the French far-right National Front party, has died aged 96. Le Pen, who had been in a care facility for several weeks, died at midday Tuesday

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the far-right National Front, died on Tuesday at the age of 96. Le Pen was often embroiled in legal battles over his racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic remarks,

Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French right-wing nationalist party formerly known as the National Front, has died aged 96, news agency AFP reported on Tuesday, citing Le Pen's family. The head of the party,

Learn more. PARIS — Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch ...