Jean-Marie Le Pen died this Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at the age of 96. “The President of the Republic expresses his condolences to his family and loved ones“writes the Elysée in a press release. “A historical figure of the extreme right, he played a role in the public life of our country for nearly seventy years, which is now subject to the judgment of History“, considers the Presidency of the Republic.
Reacting on X (ex-Twitter), the Prime Minister, François Bayrou also evokes the disappearance of a “figure of French political life” : “We knew, by fighting him, what a fighter he was“he writes, also emphasizing the role of “controversies which were [l’]favorite weapon” from the co-founder of the National Front. The Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau For his part, he believes that Jean-Marie Le Pen “will undoubtedly have marked its era” : “Today, a page in French political history is turning“.
The RN pays tribute to a “visionary”
On the side of the National Rally, the tributes are multiplying. The party president, Jordan Bardellasalutes on X the memory of Jean-Marie Le Pen, who “always served France, defended its identity and sovereignty“. The RN deputy Sébastien Chenu adds, evoking the action “of an immense patriot, visionary and an embodiment of courage“. And to add that Jean-Marie Le Pen, who “loved France“, East “entered into its history“. In the same vein, his colleague Thomas Ménage evokes a “precursor of the national movement“, who has “denounced before everyone else the path France was taking“.
And in a press release, the National gathering describes the five-time presidential candidate as “visionary, imposing in the public debate the major subjects which structure political life today” and greet “an indomitable fighter serving a proud and conquering vision of France“.
Ally of Marine Le Pen’s party, president of the “Union of Rights for the Republic” group of the National Assembly, Eric Ciottipays tribute to Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was “deeply French and served France with passion” : “He was a complex man, with gray areas, but also courage and sincere patriotism.“he writes.
“He was among the first to alert France of the existential threats that awaited it“, affirms for his part Eric Zemmour on his X account.”Here is an example of a fighter who took the risk of telling the Truth and… who was ostracized“, also reacted Christine Boutin, while Nicolas Dupont-Aignanwho concluded a government agreement with Marine Le Pen between the two rounds of the 2017 presidential election, evokes the disappearance of a “monument of French political life“.
“Heirs stronger than ever” according to the left
On the left, the reactions are obviously very different. The national coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bomparddenounces “an enemy of the Republic“, “a nostalgic for collaboration, a perpetrator of torture, a racist and an anti-Semite“. Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemns, for its part, the acts “unbearable” by Jean-Marie Le Pen and calls for “continue“the”fight against the hatred, racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism that he spread“. According to the LFI deputy Louis BoyardJean-Marie Le Pen “deserves no tribute“.
The spokesperson for the “Ecologist and Social” group of the Assembly, Benjamin Lucasto warn: “If Jean-Marie Le Pen had become a point of detail in political life for at least a decade, his heirs are stronger than ever, more dangerous than ever“. His colleague François Ruffin abounds, believing that the “racist ideas” of the former leader of the FN, described as “fascist from another time““still to fight“. “The father’s heirs are still there“ writes, for his part, the deputy of the “Socialists” group Arthur Delaporte.
