PARIS (AP) — Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, has died. He was 96.

Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front party who tapped into blue-collar anger over immigration and globalisation and revelled in minimising the Holocaust, died on Tuesday aged 96.

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. From founding the National Front party,

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.

He ran unsuccessfully for the French presidency five times, riding waves of discontent and xenophobia as the leader of the National Front party.

In a poll on January 5th of the 50 favourite French public figures, the only politicians who featured were Ms Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, her lieutenant. Jean-Marie Le Pen inhabited the unfrequentable margins. Ms Le Pen has never looked closer to power. ■

Jean Marie Le Pen, an iconic and controversial figure in French politics, has died at the age of 96. Founder of the National Front, a party that shaped the far-right landscape in France, Le Pen

Controversy was Le Pen's constant companion: accusations of racism and antisemitism dogged the National Front from when he co-founded the party.