Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France's far-right party, has passed away.

Jean-Marie Le Pen (1928-2025) founded the far-right French party in the 1970s and ran for president five times. However, it was only after he handed over power to his daughter, Marine Le Pen, that the far-right truly rose to prominence.

Jean-Marie Le Pen (1928-2025)

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right movement, died today (January 7), according to an announcement from his family cited by AFP.

Mr. Le Pen had been recuperating at home for the past few weeks before passing away at 6 PM on January 7th (Vietnam time) surrounded by loved ones, at the age of 97.

The founder of the French far-right party.

In 1972, Le Pen founded the National Front (FN) party with the goal of unifying the far-right movements in France.

For the past few decades, Le Pen has been the most controversial political figure in France, nicknamed "The Devil of the Republic".

To his supporters, he possessed immense charisma, a champion who never backed down from any obstacle and was ready to fight the most difficult issues in French politics.

Critics, on the other hand, view him as a blind far-right extremist and have been convicted numerous times for his extremely radical remarks.

In 2002, Le Pen shocked the whole of France by advancing to the second round of the presidential election. That year, France breathed a sigh of relief when the final victory went to candidate Jacques Chirac.

Marine Le Pen and her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, at an event in France in 2014.

The father-son relationship has fractured.

In 2011, he resigned as chairman of the FN and handed over power to his daughter, Marine Le Pen.

The relationship between father and daughter Le Pen was almost immediately fractured. Marine Le Pen led the FN away from her father's overly extreme policies, aiming to attract a wider range of voters.

And this relationship is virtually irreparable after the FN unanimously decided in May 2015 to suspend the membership of its honorary president, Jean-Marie Le Pen, according to Le Monde .

This is a disciplinary measure taken against Mr. Le Pen after some statements that could negatively impact efforts to improve the image of the FN, such as his remark that gas chambers in World War II were merely a "detail" of history.

The aforementioned decision indicates that the internal crisis at FN has reached its peak, and the relationship between Mr. Le Pen and his daughter – FN Chairwoman Marine Le Pen – has seriously fractured.

After his membership was suspended, Le Pen was furious and felt "betrayed," demanding that his daughter change her last name.

Two years later, Marine Le Pen changed the name of the FN to Rassemblement National.

Last year, the RN won 30 out of the 81 seats in the European Parliament reserved for France and became the party with the most seats in the subsequent French general election, even though it did not gain control of the government.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/jean-marie-le-pen-nha-sang-lap-dang-cuc-huu-phap-qua-doi-185250107205809767.htm