Le Pen, who had been at a nursing home for weeks, died at lunchtime on Tuesday, "surrounded by his loved ones", according to a statement from the family, as reported by the news agency AFP.
"He always served France, defended its identity and independence", writes Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally, the party founded by Le Pen, which was previously known as the National Front, on the platform X after the death announcement.
"We know what a fighter he was", writes Prime Minister François Bayrou in turn.
From daughter Marine Le Pen and granddaughter Marion Maréchal – both with heavy roles in different parts of the French far-right – there is so far silence.
"The Pillar"
The National Rally notes in a longer tribute to its founder that Le Pen held the "small flickering flame of the French nation in his hands".
"A pillar, carved in granite, who sometimes amused himself by being polemical", writes the party on X.
Le Pen was a profile in French right-wing circles for decades. He was a member of parliament as early as the 1950s and founded the National Front in 1972.
Three Daughters
Several French newspapers describe him as "The Devil of the Republic" – the title of a documentary film about Le Pen from 2011 – due to his many controversial statements and outbursts.
"He was the man who put the far-right back at the center of the political game in France", writes the left-wing newspaper Le Monde.
"He opened the eyes of the French to the evil that demographics can bring – but made it impossible for any moderate force to join his fight against immigration through his excesses", believes the right-wing newspaper Le Figaro.
Le Pen leaves behind his wife Jany and daughters Marine, Marie-Caroline, and Yann, all from a previous marriage.
