By Maria Ravani,
Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far right National Front party and the father of Marine Le Pen, the current leader of the far right movement in France, died a few days later. His death on the 7th of January reminded everyone of his political figure and moreover, his words and his actions. Known to many for his description of the Holocaust as “merely a detail of history”, Le Pen is considered one of the most polarizing figures in French (and probably in global) society. His supporters are passionate about his ideology and his ideas, while his haters cannot stress enough what a villain this man was.
According to him and his admirers, all of his life was dedicated to protecting “eternal France”, whatever that meant to him and to his audience. From promoting Ebola as a solution to overpopulation, to suggesting that people with AIDS should be contained in “special facilities”, his statements were always filled with hatred, bigotry and intolerance. His consignment –meaning the now National Rally– is determined to continue its founder’s hateful dreams.
But who was Le Pen?
He was born on the 20th of June 1928 and tragedy struck his life quite early, when his father died in an accident when Jean-Marie was only 14 years old. Later, he went on to study Law, while, simultaneously, finding his political voice and engaging in political (and sometimes violent) activities within the university. When he graduated, he enlisted in the army, an experience that would deeply shape his character and his political ideology.
He served as a paratrooper and a Foreign Legionnaire that fought in Indochina and Algeria and was, later, accused for participating in tortures of captives –among many others allegations. When he returned to France, his political journey started…
His main political focus were issues like immigration, culture, safety of the state as well as unemployment rates. He was considered a passionate Eurosceptic and he put the sovereignty of the French state above all rights. His rhetoric style was one of the main reasons why his ideas spread so easily within French society, making his party one of the most recognized and formidable political players in the game.
He was a candidate for the French presidency 5 times in total and in 2002, he managed to make it to the second round of the elections, surprising –or to be more precise, terrifying– everyone. As a political figure that counted so many decades in the political arena, he was considered quite an important factor of the political landscape of France. A person that his voice and his ideas could not be ignored.
“If I advance, follow me; if I die, avenge me; if I shirk, kill me” – Le Pen, 1990
Regardless of his bizarre popularity, it was maybe about time for justice to be served (?) and these last few years, the party that he founded and that he so much loved, pushed him aside. In 2015 and after his statements about the Holocaust, his daughter decided that it was time for the party to close this chapter of its history, severing all ties with Jean-Marie Le Pen. Him and his daughter were also accused later of using money destined for EU parliamentary to promote their party cause and for internal affairs of the party, a legal battle that has since been settled and no longer talked about.
In his long and rather full life, he has been accused of assault, fraud and of promoting violence. Hate speech and threats had polluted the political discourse of France for many years, and Jean-Marie Le Pen was always on the front rows of this battle…
So, maybe the most to the point response regarding the news of Le Pen’s death is the one made by the leader of the radical left in France, Jean-Luc Mélenchon: “Respect for the dignity of the dead and the grief of their loved ones does not erase the right to judge their actions,” he said. Those of Jean-Marie Le Pen remain unbearable. It is the death of a human, the death of a father, the death of a loved one. It is also the death of a person who (allegedly) tortured and killed people, who (not allegedly) promoted antisemitism and hatred and whose words will continue to spread hatred, even if he no longer speaks them.
References
- French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen dies at 96. BBC. Availabe here
- Jean-Marie Le Pen, French far-right leader, dies aged 96. The Guardian. Available here
- Jean-Marie Le Pen, Founder of the French Far-Right, Dies at 96. Time. Available here
- Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s far-right National Front party, dead at 96. CBS News. Available here
