Firebrand Carried Torch For Far Right

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the French firebrand who rekindled far-right politics in the heart of Europe, has died at the age of 96.

- NOEMIE BISSERBE

Le Pen suffered deteriorating health in recent years, having been hospitalized after a heart attack and mild stroke.

Le Pen was the face of the far-right in France for nearly four decades, co-founding the National Front in 1972 and leading the anti-immigration party until he handed it over to his daughter Marine Le Pen, who renamed it National Rally.

Le Pen's rhetoric-which ranged from nativist diatribes to antisemitic remarks-made him a pariah across Europe's political establishment and, at times, a source of embarrassment to his daughter. In 2015, she ousted her father from the party over his repeated characterization of Nazi gas chambers as a "detail of history."

Le Pen carried the torch for Europe's far right during the era that followed the defeat of European fascism in World War II and the expansion of civil rights in the 1960s. He borrowed his party's logo, the tricolor flame, from the supporters of fallen Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and forged a new political identity for the far right based on deep anti-immigrant sentiment.

To Le Pen, immigrants from the Middle East and Africa, including former French colonies, represented a demographic time bomb for Europe. His message channeled the frustration of many French who felt marginalized by globalization. That made the National Front a harbinger for populist parties that sprung up around Europe.