Over 1,000 people attended a memorial ceremony in central Paris for the founder of France’s main far-right party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died last week at the age of 96.

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, 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.

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.

The founding father of France's far-right movement, Jean-Marie Le Pen, died Tuesday in a care facility after a short illness, his family said. He was 96 years old.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French far-right political party the National Front, has died aged 96, a senior party official has announced.

A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence. His statements — including Holocaust denial, racist denunciations of Muslims and immigrants and his 1987 proposal to forcibly isolate people with AIDS in special facilities — shocked his critics and strained his political alliances.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right party Front National, has died. He was 96. His family confirmed the news in a statement sent to the AFP and said he died “surrounded by his loved ones.”

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