The Death of Le Pen Marks An End of Era for  Politics of Hate in France

Ishtiaq Ahmed 

Bradford: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the French politician, the father of far-right politics in post-war Europe, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 96.

Throughout his political career, Le Pen was an unrepentant extremist on issues of race, gender, and immigration, as well as a Holocaust denier. He dedicated his life to bringing his divisive views into the French political mainstream.

Le Pen founded the French far-right National Front party in 1972, to promote and  pursue  anti-immigration causes in French politic.

Dubbed the “Devil of the Republic,” he ran in five presidential campaigns, reaching the second round in 2002. However, he was emphatically defeated when parties across the political spectrum united against him in a process referred to as “de-demonization.”

Le Pen’s legacy continues to polarize opinion. Supporters, both in France and abroad, regard him as a charismatic figure who boldly addressed contentious issues.

Critics, however, denounce him as a far-right bigot and a symbol of hatred. The seeds of division and hostility he sowed will continue to cast a long shadow over France and Europe for decades to come.

In 2015, Le Pen was ousted from the very party he founded by his daughter, Marine Le Pen. Reacting bitterly, he remarked, “Maybe by getting rid of me, she wanted to make a gesture to the establishment. But imagine how much better she would be doing if she had not excluded me from the party!”

Marine Le Pen subsequently rebranded the party as National Rally, transforming it into a more electorally palatable force while retaining many of its original values.

Born on June 20, 1928, in the small Breton village of La Trinité-sur-Mer, Le Pen lost his father at the age of 14 when his fishing boat struck a German mine.

He was recognised as a Pupille de la Nation (Ward of the Nation), a status granted to children of those killed or wounded in war, entitling him to state support. Despite his early attempt to join the French Resistance, he was turned down.

In 1954, Le Pen joined the French Foreign Legion. His experiences in Algeria during the independence war profoundly influenced his politics.

Viewing the loss of Algeria as a betrayal, he grew to despise Charles de Gaulle, the wartime hero and then-President of France. During the conflict, Le Pen was accused of torturing Algerian prisoners, though he consistently denied these allegations.

Le Pen’s political career began in earnest in 1956 when he was elected to the French parliament as part of a party led by right-wing activist Pierre Poujade. 

After falling out with Poujade and briefly returning to the army, Le Pen found himself in the political wilderness until 1972, when he founded the National Front (FN).

Initially a fringe party, the FN gained traction with its hardline anti-immigration policies, particularly in southern France, where many North African immigrants had settled.

In the 1984 European elections, the FN garnered 10% of the vote, and Le Pen secured a seat in the European Parliament, which he held for over 30 years. A vocal critic of the European Union, Le Pen derided the euro as “the currency of occupation.”

Despite his growing influence, Le Pen frequently courted controversy. In a notorious 1987 interview, he dismissed the Holocaust as “a detail of World War Two.” This statement would haunt him for the rest of his career.

Le Pen’s popularity, however, continued to rise. In the 1988 presidential election, he captured 14% of the vote, increasing to 15% in 1995. His breakthrough moment came in 2002, when a fragmented opposition allowed him to advance to the final round of the presidential election. The result sent shockwaves through French society, prompting over a million protesters to take to the streets. Politicians across the spectrum united behind Jacques Chirac, who won with 82% of the vote, the largest margin in French history.

Following the election, President Nicolas Sarkozy adopted many of the FN’s hardline stances on immigration and national security in an effort to appeal to far-right voters. While Le Pen’s party failed to secure seats in the National Assembly, his influence on mainstream politics was unmistakable.

Following his death , the French President Emmanuel Macron described Le Pen as a “historic figure of the far right,” adding that “history will judge” his role in shaping the nation’s political landscape”.

Jordan Bardella, who succeeded Marine Le Pen as the National Rally party chair in 2022, praised Jean-Marie Le Pen, stating that he had “always served France” and “defended its identity and sovereignty.”

Far-right nationalist Éric Zemmour remarked on X (formerly Twitter) that, “beyond the controversies and scandals,” Le Pen would be remembered as “one of the first to alert France to existential threats.”

From the opposite end of the political spectrum, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the radical-left France Unbowed (LFI), emphasized the distinction between respecting the dignity of the dead and critiquing their legacy. 

He stated: “Respecting the grief of the family does not erase the right to judge their actions. Jean-Marie Le Pen’s actions are unbearable. The struggle against the man is over, but the fight against the hatred, racism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism he propagated continues.”