Editing Jean-Marie Le Pen (section)

==Biography==
He was born in La Trinité-sur-Mer, France, the son of a fisherman, was orphaned during his adolescence. At age 16 he was rejected when he tried to join the French Forces of the Interior due to his age, so he then entered the faculty of law in Paris and began selling newspapers on the street. During this period he was arrested multiple times for assault and battery, and repeatedly participated in street fights against communists.

After receiving his law degree, he enlisted in the Foreign Legion and was sent to [[First Indochina War|Indochina]] and [[Suez Crisis|Suez]]. In 1956 he was elected a member of the National Assembly as a member of the UDCA political party. Later he would be elected again as a member of the CNIP, and later a deputy under the Poujadist banner. Later he would be sent to [[Algerian War|Algeria]] as an intelligence officer. Le Pen was the presidential campaign manager of far-right candidate [[Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour]], a former collaborator of the [[Vichy France|Vichy Regime]].

In 1972, Le Pen founded the National Front (currently called the [[National Rally]]), which despite not having good electoral results at the beginning, would grow overwhelmingly in the 1980s due to its criticism of immigration and taking advantage of the economic crisis in the country. As party leader, Le Pen ran as a pre-presidential candidate a total of five times, being the second most voted candidate in the 2002 elections, apart from serving as a member of the European Parliament on two occasions and holding other lower-level regional positions.

In 2011, Le Pen left the party presidency to be succeeded by his daughter [[Marine Le Pen]]<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/20110116-daughter-succeeds-le-pen-far-right-head-france Daughter succeeds Le Pen as head of France's far-right National Front], ''France 24''</ref>, and would go on to become honorary president. In 2015, Le Pen was expelled from his own party due to his extremist ideas affecting the public image of the party<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34009901 French National Front expels founder Jean-Marie Le Pen], ''BBC News''</ref>, so Le Pen founded a new far-right party, the [[Jeanne Committees]].

Le Pen was briefly hospitalized after a minor stroke on 2 February 2022. He was hospitalized again on 15 April 2023, after suffering a "mild heart attack", and was discharged from the hospital on 3 May.

In April 2024, Le Pen experienced another heart attack. In November 2024, he was hospitalized for two weeks for medical examinations related to old age, and his family expressed concerns about his general state of health.

Le Pen died at a care facility in Garches, Hauts-de-Seine, on 7 January 2025, at the age of 96. He had been in failing health due to complications from the heart attack he suffered in 2024.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgm2jvkl2yo French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen dies at 96], ''BBC News''</ref>