Iconic Conservative Political Leader Passes Away
Conservatives in France mourned the loss of a prominent leader on Tuesday while acknowledging his daughter's role in sparking a movement that left a significant mark on the nation’s elections last year.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s National Front party and father of former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, passed away at the age of 96. A family statement revealed that Le Pen had been living in an assisted care facility for several weeks before passing on Tuesday, “surrounded by his loved ones.” His daughter, Marine Le Pen—founder of the conservative National Rally party and a deputy in the French National Assembly—was not present. She learned of her father’s passing while traveling back from Kenya after a visit to the cyclone-hit island of Mayotte.
Expressing her grief, Marine Le Pen shared a heartfelt message on X: “You will not be able to console me for this sorrow,” she wrote, along with a black-and-white photo of herself as a child, carried by her father.
Prominent figures in French politics shared their reflections on Le Pen’s legacy. “Jean-Marie Le Pen is dead. Enlisted in the French army for service in Indochina and Algeria, and a speaker in both the National Assembly and European Parliament, he consistently served France, defending its identity and sovereignty,” said Jordan Bardella, chair of the National Rally, in a statement to Reuters. He added, “Today my thoughts are with his family, his loved ones, and of course Marine, whose mourning must be respected.”
The National Rally issued its own statement: “For the National Rally, he will remain the one who, during the storms, held in his hands the small flickering flame of the French Nation and who, through an unlimited will and tenacity, made the national movement an autonomous, powerful and free political family.”
French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged Le Pen’s place in history with a measured comment: “A historic figure of the far right, he played a role in the public life of our country for nearly seventy years, which is now a matter for history to judge.” François Bayrou, a longtime political rival, also shared his perspective, remarking, “Beyond his favorite weapon, controversy, JM Le Pen was a prominent player in French politics. By fighting him, we knew what a fighter he was.”
Jean-Marie Le Pen’s controversial political career often stirred public debate. He was criticized for downplaying the Holocaust but resonated with France’s blue-collar workers after World War II by vocalizing their frustrations. However, in 2015, his daughter Marine Le Pen distanced herself from him, vowing to block his participation in future elections. Analysts saw this as part of her strategy to position herself for a presidential bid. “Jean-Marie Le Pen is in a spiral between a scorched-earth strategy and political suicide,” she remarked at the time, according to the Washington Post. “The NF doesn’t want to be held hostage by his coarse provocations.”
The summer elections last year left France’s government in turmoil. A brief coalition emerged in August when President Macron appointed conservative lawmaker Michel Barnier as prime minister. However, Barnier’s removal in December plunged the government into its second major political crisis in just a few months.
According to reports, both far-right and far-left groups, including Marine Le Pen, were excluded from coalition talks. Marine Le Pen, who had lost presidential bids in both 2017 and 2021, made significant progress in her second attempt but fell short of victory. Laurent Wauquiez, head of the Republican Right grouping in the National Assembly, commented after a meeting in December, “At the end of this meeting, we all share the same conviction, there will be no government contract with people with whom we do not share the same values.”