Key dates in the life of Jean-Marie Le Pen and rise of the far-right in France

Jean-Marie Le Pen speaking in the Place des Pyramides in Paris in 2016 (Alamy/PA)

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s main far-right party, died on Tuesday at the age of 96, but the anti-immigration and nationalist ideas that propelled his decades of popularity remain ascendant in the country, across Europe and beyond.

Mr Le Pen’s daughter, Marine Le Pen, transformed the National Front, now named the National Rally, into one of France’s most powerful political forces as she is now eyeing the 2027 presidential election.