What is Jean-Marie Le Pen?
[[File:Front National 2010-05-01 n02 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2010]] '''Jean-Marie Le Pen''' (20 June 1928 &ndash; 7 January 2025) was a [[French people|French]] [[politician]], [[lawyer]] and [[activist]]. He was the leader of the [[National Front (France)|French National Front]] (FN) from 1972 until 2011, which is a far-[[right-wing|right]] [[political party]] in France. He was a [[Member of the European Parliament]] from 1984 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2019. Le Pen was also a member of the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] from 1956 to 1962 and again from 1986 to 1988. Le Pen ran for [[President of France]] five times, but never won.<ref name=nytobit/> His daughter, [[Marine Le Pen]], was leader of the National Front and also unsuccessfully ran for President of France. Le Pen supported [[immigration]] restrictions, the [[capital punishment|death penalty]], raising incentives for [[homemaker]]s, and was against the [[European Union|EU]]. He was strongly against [[same-sex marriage]], [[euthanasia]] and [[abortion]]. ==Early life== Le Pen was born in [[La Trinité-sur-Mer]], [[Brittany]], [[France]].<ref name=bio/> He studied at the [[Paris-Panthéon-Assas University]] in [[Paris]]. Le Pen served in the [[French Army]] from 1953 to 1957. ==Political career== Jean-Marie Le Pen founded the FN in 1972. He became a [[Member of the European Parliament]] (MEP) in 1984 and ran for President of France five times; in 1974, 1988, 1995, 2002 and 2007. He came second in the 2002 election. Le Pen had [[Xenophobia|xenophobic]] and [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] views and was accused of having practised [[torture]] when he fought in the [[Algerian War]] (1954-1962).<ref name=nytobit/> He was suspended from the FN on 4 May 2015 by his daughter Marine, after saying good things about the [[gas chamber]]s used in the [[Holocaust]] by [[Nazi Germany]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-08-20 |title=French National Front expels founder Jean-Marie Le Pen |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-3400990