The founder of the National Front died on Tuesday January 7 at the age of 96. A disappearance which immediately caused a reaction from the political class, both its supporters and its opponents.
Barely had the death of Jean-Marie Le Pen been announced on Tuesday January 7 when the political class, particularly close to the leader of the National Front, paid tribute to him. On X, a rain of tribute messages gradually falls. Starting with Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Rally. “Jean-Marie Le Pen is dead. Engaged in the uniform of the French army in Indochina and Algeria, tribune of the people in the National Assembly and the European Parliament, he has always served France, defended its identity and its sovereignty.he writes. Before adding: “I think today with sadness of his family, his loved ones, and of course Marine whose mourning must be respected.”
At the same time, the president of Reconquête, Éric Zemmour, also wished to pay tribute to the memory of the politician. “Beyond the controversies, beyond the scandals, what we will remember about him in the coming decades is that he was among the first to alert France of the existential threats that awaited it. It will remain the vision of a man, and his courage, at a time when courageous men were not so numerous.he said.
The founding president of the Union of Rights for the Republic party, Éric Ciotti, also praised the memory of Jean-Marie Le Pen, “deeply French”Who “served France with passion, from ward of the nation to candidate in the second round of the presidential election”. “His disappearance marks the end of a page of the Fifth Republic. He was a complex man, with gray areas but also courage and sincere patriotism. My thoughts are with his family, Marine, Yann, Marie-Caroline, and Marion. I call on them to respect the dignity and privacy of their families during this time of mourning.said the Nice MP.
For Robert Ménard, mayor of Béziers, the speech is more nuanced. “Jean-Marie Le Pen was someone who echoed the fears, the fears, the experiences of a whole part of this peripheral, provincial France, when he was the first to denounce the risks of uncontrolled immigration. And at the same time, he had a certain number of words that make us feel nauseous, with unbearable anti-Semitism.”he declared on CNews.
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Messages from the government
A few minutes later, Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau sent his condolences to Marine Le Pen and her relatives, indicating that a “page of French political history turns”. “Whatever opinion one may have of Jean Marie Le Pen, he will undoubtedly have left his mark on his era”added the minister.
A message followed by that of the Prime Minister, François Bayrou, who praised his character of “fighter”. “Beyond the controversies which were his favorite weapon and the necessary confrontations on the merits, Jean-Marie Le Pen will have been a figure in French political life. We knew, by fighting him, what a fighter he was. says at the head of government.
The opposition also reacted
On the opposition side too, some did not wait before reacting. And the speech is of a very different hue. “Respect for the dignity of the dead and the grief of their loved ones does not erase the right to judge their actions. Those of Jean-Marie Le Pen remain unbearable. The fight against man is over. The one against the hatred, racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism that he spread continues.launched Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the Insoumis.
Same story for Louis Boyard, LFI deputy. For him, Jean-Marie Le Pen “does not deserve any tribute”he wrote. Before continuing: “All his life he spat on exiles, women, Muslim, Jewish and LGBT people. Our thoughts should be with the people he hated. Let’s continue the fight so that his ideology follows him to his grave.”.
Deputy for the Somme, François Ruffin, of the Picardie Debout party, also did not fail to attack Jean-Marie Le Pen: “Friends of Vichy and torture in Algeria. The FN founded with the Waffen SS, the “Durafour crematorium” and the “details of history”. A fascist from another time is gone. But leaves behind very current heirs. Who, today, honor the “tribune” and the “servant of France”. Jean-Marie Le Pen is dead, his racist ideas remain to be fought”.
For his part, Philippe Poutou, the NPA candidate, who came penultimate in the first round of the 2022 presidential elections, is exultant. “The year 2025 does not start too badly with this good news of the death of Le Pen”he writes in a spirit of provocation. He then lists the adjectives which, according to him, best describe the founder of the FN: “a racist, a colonialist, a fascist, a torturer, a murderer, a homophobe, etc.”
For the moment, his daughter Marine Le Pen has not yet spoken publicly. Currently on a return flight from Mayotte, where she spent three days meeting residents after Cyclone Chido, she will not land until 11:30 p.m. in Paris this Tuesday evening. Marine Le Pen and her team had a technical stopover in Nairobi, Kenya. It was there, turning their phones back on, that the journalists learned the news and spoke to the RN press officer. The latter immediately informed Marine Le Pen of the disappearance of her father. She got up to make some phone calls, before returning to her seat.
