Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died at the age of 96 last Tuesday, he wanted to be buried in Trinite-sur-Mer in the tomb where his parents rest. The funeral ceremony took place in the small church of St. Józefa in this town.
There were approximately 200 people from family and relativesincluding Le Pen's daughters: Marie-Caroline and the leader of the far right Marine Le Penas well as granddaughter Marion Marechal, also politically active.
The authorities of a town in western France were afraid of clashes
The authorities of the department of Morbihan, in which Trinite-sur-Mer is located, issued a ban on demonstrations in the town. They decided that due to the “political personality” of the deceased, an influx of him could be expected supporters and opponents alike on the occasion of a religious ceremony and funeral. The prefecture justified the ban on demonstrations “risk of disruptions” and “counter-demonstrations that could spark clashes between antagonistic movements with diametrically opposed ideologies.”
Earlier on Saturday, the AFP agency reported, citing a police source, that approximately 100 officers were mobilizedto prevent incidents in Trinite-sur-Mer, where Only 170 people live there permanently.
AFP also reported that in procession those going to the cemetery took part “hundreds” of peopleand when he arrived there was applause. “Jean-Marie, we love you!” – shouted one of the supporters of the deceased politician. Agency sources said that he was present, although he avoided cameras, Jordan Bardella, head of the National Union (RN).
Le Pen's daughters decided that An open ceremony will be held in Paris on January 16 for the audience. It will be a mass in the Val-de-Grace church, associated – as AFP explains – with the field ordinariate of the French armed forces.
On Tuesday, when the death of the founder of the National Front was announced, in some cities Franceamong others in Paris, Lyon and Rennes, meetings took place in which Le Pen's opponents expressed joy because of his death, they chanted slogans and lit flares and firecrackers. The head of the Interior Ministry, Bruno Retailleau, a politician of the conservative right, described these speeches as “shameful“.
France. Jean-Marie Le Pen sentenced for statements about war
Le Pen founded the National Front in 1972. “A tribune and provocateur who was obsessed with immigration and Jews,” AFP writes about him. It reminds us that Le Pen stayed convicted for statements about World War II and offensive comments of a homophobic nature. Le Pen was also accused of using torture in Algeriawhere he served during the Algerian War, but has always denied these accusations.
He co-founded FN in 1972 Pierre Bousquetpreviously a soldier of the Charlemagne Waffen-SS division and a former member of the Franciste Party, modeled on Italian fascists. Marginal batch thanks anti-immigrant slogans gradually grew stronger. In 1984 as a result of the elections to European Parliament 10 FN activists won MEP seatsincluding Le Pen himself. Le Pen's greatest political success was transition to the second round of the presidential elections in France in 2002.
Le Pen's daughter is trying to change the party's image
In 2011 She took over the reins of the party from her father Marine Le Penwhich began the process of “de-demonizing” the far right, and even she removed her father from the party for his comments on the topic The Holocaust.
Led by Le Pen's daughter, the group was renamed… National Unionbecame an important political force. In last year's European elections, the RN came second in first place ahead of other French parties, winning over 31 percent votes and introducing approx 30 MEPs.