On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, the family of Jean-Marie Le Pen announced the death of the politician at the age of 96. According to a statement relayed by AFP, he died in Garches, in the Hauts-de-Seine region of France. He had been hospitalized for several weeks in a secure medical facility following a number of health problems. The controversial politician had kept a low profile for many years, following the succession of his daughter, Marine Le Pen, to the presidency of his political party, now renamed the Rassemblement National.
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Jean-Marie Le Pen dies aged 96
The 96-year-old politician, who survived an attempted assassination attempt with his family, had been suffering from numerous health problems for several years. Indeed, he was hospitalized in November 2024, but also in April 2023 following a heart ailment, and in February 2022, due to a mild form of stroke. His family issued a statement, relayed by the AFP.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, surrounded by his family and friends, was called back to God at 12pm on Tuesday.
In February 2024, Jean-Marie Le Pen was placed under legal protection. His three daughters, Marie-Caroline, Yann and Marine, therefore had the right to make important decisions on his behalf. Indeed, while he was due to appear in court in September 2024, on charges of embezzlement and inventing false parliamentary assistant posts, the 96-year-old politician's state of health had been declared 'incompatible' with an appearance before a judge.
The experts appointed by the Paris judicial court noted a 'profound deterioration' in the former politician's physical and mental health. According to them, the former presidential candidate was no longer even capable of understanding his environment, and was 'unable to concentrate for more than a few minutes'. They explained:
He has no awareness of the purpose, meaning and scope of this hearing.
They also added that Jean-Marie Le Pen was suffering from 'heart failure' which prevented him from leaving his home.
A controversial political career
The father of Marine Le Pen, the current president of the Rassemblement National party, ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the French Republic five times. In 2002, his passage to the second round of the presidential election divided France, prompting many to speak out in favour of Jacques Chirac, who went on to win the race. Jean-Marie Le Pen was first elected to the French National Assembly in 1956, aged just 27, making him the youngest parliamentarian in the Fifth Republic at the time. In 1972, he helped found a new far-right party, the Front National, whose motto is still remembered today: 'A million unemployed is a million too many immigrants'.
The politician bequeathed his party to his daughter, Marine, in 2011. After saying she would 'acknowledge the entire inheritance' of the party, she finally decided to 'de-demonize' the party in 2015. The politician thus pushed her father towards the exit, notably because of his polemical remarks about the Holocaust. He was convicted of 'denying crimes against humanity', claiming that the German occupation of France during the Second World War was not 'inhumane, even if there were blunders'. The Vel d'Hiv roundup in Paris in 1942 resulted in the deportation of almost 13,000 Jewish men, women and children to concentration camps, and their certain death.
This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag FR.
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Source used :
France Bleu: Jean-Marie Le Pen est mort à l'âge de 96 ans
