<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/france" rel="" target="" title="France's"><span>France's</span></a><span> far-right National Front, has died at 96, Sebastien Chenu, a senior party official says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A polarising figure in French </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/politics" rel="" target="" title="politics"><span>politics</span></a><span>, Le Pen was known for his fiery rhetoric against </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/immigration" rel="" target="" title="immigration"><span>immigration</span></a><span> and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His controversial statements, including Holocaust denial, led to multiple convictions and strained his political alliances.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-esperance-drowning-olya-tikhanova/3f4b2e05-d5b2-4f15-84e9-5fcb004709d6"><strong><span>Mum who fled Ukraine for new life in Australia dies in beach tragedy</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Le Pen, who once reached the second round of the 2002 presidential election, was eventually estranged from his daughter, Marine Le Pen. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In 2011, she rebranded the party to shed its "demonised" image and expand its electoral appeal, culminating in her own presidential successes. It is now called the National Rally.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite his exclusion from the party in 2015, Le Pen's divisive legacy endures, marking decades of French political history and shaping the trajectory of the far-right.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/jean-marie-le-pen-death-former-french-far-right-leader-dies-at-96/e023139f-2f3f-4c8c-89dd-5410ef4c89ca" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em></em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the </span></strong></em><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><em><strong><span>Apple App Store</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span> and </span></strong></em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU"><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>.</span></strong></em></div></div>