Jean-Marie Le Pen

French politician

Jean-Marie Le Pen is a controversial French politician who served as the president of the far-right National Front party for nearly 40 years. He is known for his strong views on immigration, traditional culture, and law and order, which have made him a polarizing figure in French politics.

About the Jean-Marie Le Pen

Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (born 20 June 1928), known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (French: [Za maRi l@ pen]), is a French far-right politician who served as president of the National Front from 1972 to 2011 and Honorary President of the same party from 2011 to 2015.

Le Pen focuses on issues related to immigration to France, the European Union, traditional culture and values, law and order, and France’s high rate of unemployment. His progression in the 1980s is known as the “lepenisation of minds” due to its noticeable effect on mainstream political opinion. His controversial speeches and his integration into public life have made him a figure who polarizes opinion, considered the “Devil of the Republic” among his opponents or the “last samurai in politics” among his supporters. He has been convicted for statements downplaying the Holocaust, and fined for incitement to discrimination regarding remarks made about Muslims in France.

Le Pen’s longevity in politics and his five attempts to become President of France have made him a major figure in French political life. His unexpected progress to the second round in the 2002 presidential election–where he would lose in a landslide to incumbent Jacques Chirac–left its mark on French public life, and the “21st of April” is now a frequently used expression in France. A former Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Le Pen served as the Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. He was expelled from the party by his daughter Marine in 2015, after new controversial statements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French politician who served as the president of the far-right National Front party from 1972 to 2011. He is known for his controversial views on issues like immigration and traditional French culture.

Jean-Marie Le Pen focused on issues related to immigration, the European Union, traditional French culture and values, law and order, and France’s high unemployment rate. His views were considered far-right and contributed to the ,lepénisation of minds, in French politics.

Jean-Marie Le Pen ran for President of France five times, with his unexpected progress to the second round in the 2002 election leaving a lasting mark on French politics.

Jean-Marie Le Pen was considered a controversial figure due to his controversial speeches and statements, particularly those that downplayed the Holocaust or were seen as inciting discrimination against Muslims in France.

In 2015, Jean-Marie Le Pen was expelled from the National Front party by his daughter Marine, who had taken over as party president in 2011. This came after new controversial statements made by Jean-Marie Le Pen.

28 Quotes by Jean-Marie Le Pen

  1. 1.

    In recent years – before the intifada – there were three or four incidents of anti-Semitism a year, and that’s out of 18 million crimes and violations of the law.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  2. 2.

    Political rivals attacked me. I was savagely beaten. I was kicked in the face and I lost my eye as a result.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  3. 3.

    There wasn’t anti-Semitism in France.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  4. 4.

    As for me, even though I have been accused of anti-Semitism countless times, no one has ever heard me make anti-Semitic statements or engage in anti-Semitic behavior.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  5. 5.

    The much greater crimes of the Soviet Gulags occurred over decades and cost millions of lives.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  6. 6.

    When you write a two thousand page history of the Second World War, the deportations and the concentration camps will take up five pages, and the gas chambers perhaps 20 lines.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  7. 7.

    You cannot speak on behalf of a nation when you have no mandate to do so.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  8. 8.

    France was an occupied country, a country that surrendered and was left without the right to choose.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  9. 9.

    There was no reason to label us as anti-Semitic.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  10. 10.

    The Second World War claimed tens of millions of victims.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  11. 11.

    The Vichy government was under occupation and carried out the orders of the German occupier.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  12. 12.

    After all, you’re not exactly a nation like all the other nations. You are unique, if only because you are such an ancient people, and because of the way you are spread all over the world and your obvious success in many fields.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  13. 13.

    What’s surprising is that the people who fought against torture here are the communists.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  14. 14.

    By analogy, if we were to develop a soccer team, then we would not invite basketball and volleyball players to the try outs. We would invite soccer players to apply.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  15. 15.

    The government would have preferred not to take a stand, but the constant presence of the Israeli-Arab conflict on our television screens made it an issue that could no longer be avoided.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  16. 16.

    When Joan D’ Arc was asked by her judges why as a Christian she did not love the British, she answered that she did love them, but she loved British in their country. In the same way, we do not hate the Turks, we love them, but in their country.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  17. 17.

    When two drivers curse each other on the road, and one of them happens to be a Jew, you can’t define that as anti-Semitism.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  18. 18.

    The suffering caused by the terrorists is the real torture.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  19. 19.

    There is an Islamic population in France, most of which comes from the North African countries.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  20. 20.

    I’m not saying that the gas chambers didn’t exist. I couldn’t see them myself.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  21. 21.

    My father was killed by a German mine, while I lost other relatives in Allied bombing attacks.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  22. 22.

    The result is that you are now experiencing what we experienced in the war in Algeria: The Israeli government says that it is a victim of terrorist activity, but this activity is less visible than the military strikes.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  23. 23.

    Millions also perished in the Chinese camps, and there have been terrible genocides in Cambodia and Vietnam.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  24. 24.

    In my speeches, I always condemned communism, national-socialism and fascism.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  25. 25.

    An ancient dictum says that when Zeus wanted to destroy someone, he would first drive him mad.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  26. 26.

    I’m always suspicious of people who repent of other people’s sins.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  27. 27.

    If you take a book of a thousand pages on the Second World War, in which 50 million people died, the concentration camps occupy two pages and the gas chambers ten or 15 lines, and that’s what one calls a detail.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician

  28. 28.

    Everyone sees drama from his own perspective.

    Jean-Marie Le Pen

    French politician