Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s far-right National Rally party, and father to French political leader Marine Le Pen, has died. He was 96.
Le Pen founded National Rally, then called National Front, in 1972 as a right-wing populist movement and led the party until 2011. He stood for president five times, most successfully in 2002 when he shocked France by defeating Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin in the first round of voting, Jacques Chirac in the second round, the first time a far-right candidate had gotten that far. Le Pen was soundly defeated, with Chirac winning more than 82 percent of the vote.
Källa: French Far-Right Firebrand Jean-Marie Le Pen Dies at 96
