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

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.

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.

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.

Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence. But the nativist ideas that propelled his popularity remain ascendant in today's France and beyond.

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.

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.

The death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, former leader of the party once known as the National Front, occurs at a time when the mainstreaming of far-right politics

By founding the National Front in 1972 — which has since been rebranded and is led by his daughter Marine Le Pen — Jean-Marie Le Pen ushered in a new brand of extreme-right politics. His legacy remains embedded in some of today’s dominant political parties.