biography
pronunciation:
[luh pen]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1928– )
|
| biography:
| Politician, born in La-Trinite-sur-Mer, Brittany, NW France. He graduated in law at Paris before serving in the 1950s as a paratrooper in Indochina and Algeria, where he lost an eye in a street battle. In 1956 he won a National Assembly seat as a right-wing Poujadist. He was connected with the extremist Organisation de l'Armée Sécrète before forming the National Front in 1972. This party, with its extreme right-wing policies, emerged as a new ‘fifth force’ in French politics in the 1986 Assembly elections, winning 10% of the national vote. A controversial figure and noted demagogue, he unsuccessfully contested the presidency in 1988 and 1995 (gaining 15% of the vote). Within the party, factions developed regarding tactics, with newer members rejecting Le Pen's direct-action approach. His decision to promote his wife to the top of the candidate's list for the 1999 parliamentary elections led to a split in the party and the establishment of a rival party, the National Front–National Movement. His success in the first round of the 2002 presidential election (gaining 16·86% of the vote), knocked Lionel Jospin of the Socialist Party out of the race and caused widespread demonstrations across France. |
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