the day the politician came close to death in an attack in Paris

This Tuesday, January 7, 2025, the politician Jean-Marie Le Pen died at the age of 96. Decades earlier, the historic leader of the National Front had narrowly escaped death with his family during an attack in Paris in the 1970s. Also affected by this attack, his daughter Marine Le Pen was then 8 years old.

A bomb in front of the Le Pen building

The year is 1976. At that time, Jean-Marie Le Pen established himself as leader of the far right. A position which does not fail to create enemies for him. The politician resides with his family at number 9 of Villa Poirier, in the 15th arrondissement of the capital. The Le Pens live on the fourth floor of a building with five floors. In 1961, a plastic bomb had already targeted the politician's home, indicated our colleagues from Monde.

On the night of November 1 to 2, 1976, a terrible explosion sounded a little before 4 a.m. A bomb has just gone off in front of the building where the Le Pen family resides. The building is partly destroyed. Neighboring homes and parked cars were also damaged.

“A tremendous explosion that threw us out of bed”

Despite the power of the explosion, no deaths were reported. Jean-Marie Le Pen, his wife Pierrette, and his children Marine, Marie-Caroline and Yann escape unscathed. “There was a tremendous explosion that threw us out of bed. We went out into the hallway, and we saw the sky. We called the children who lived above, and they answered. We called the neighbors who couldn’t find their baby,” the founder of the Front National declared to the TF1 cameras a few hours after the incident.

In total, the attack left six injured, including four children. The action was claimed at the time by an anti-fascist committee. However, the investigation did not make it possible to identify and arrest the culprits.

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.