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

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.

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

PARIS (AP) — 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 supporters and widespread condemnation, has died. He was 96.

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.