Once called the 'most hated man in France', Le Pen maintained that his ideas were simply 'ahead of their time'

PARIS (AP) — Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, has died. He was 96.

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.

Over 1,000 people attended a memorial ceremony Thursday 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. The “mass for the repose of the soul” at Notre-Dame du Val-de-Grâce church took place under tight security,

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.

Jean-Marie Le Pen espoused racist and antisemitic rhetoric that landed him in legal trouble in France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

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.

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.