Jean-Marie Le Pen, French Far Right Firebrand, Dies at 96, Leaving Disgraceful Legacy

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the controversial founder of France's far-right National Front party who transformed fringe nationalism into a powerful political force, died Tuesday surrounded by family members at his care facility. He was 96.

His daughter Marine Le Pen, who has since rebranded the party as National Rally and turned it into a mainstream political movement, was reportedly in Nairobi when she received the news and is returning to France.

President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged Le Pen as a "historic figure of the far right," adding that "history will judge" his role in French politics. The death sparked divided reactions, with far-right leader Eric Zemmour praising him for warning of "existential threats," while leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon declared that respecting the dead "does not cancel out the right to judge their actions."

Le Pen's career was marked by controversy, particularly his repeated Holocaust denials that led to multiple convictions and eventually his expulsion from his own party in 2015. Despite - or perhaps because of - his extremist views on race, immigration and gender, he achieved significant electoral success, most notably reaching the 2002 presidential runoff against Jacques Chirac.

His political legacy now lives on through his daughter Marine, who has worked to distance the party from her father's most controversial positions while maintaining its nationalist core.

BBC contributed to this article.