Over 1,000 people attended a memorial ceremony Thursday in central Paris for the founder of France’s main far-right party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died last week at the age of 96. The “mass for the repose of the soul” at Notre-Dame du Val-de-Grâce church took place under tight security,

Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of Marine Le Pen and the defining figure of France’s postwar far-right movement, has died at the age of 96, according to French network BFMTV.

PARIS (AP) — Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, has died. He was 96.

For years, the far-right National Rally tried to distance itself from Mr. Le Pen’s racist and antisemitic remarks. But after his death Tuesday, it hailed him as a visionary.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French far-right political party the National Front, has died aged 96, a senior party official has announced.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s main far-right party and a polarizing figure in French politics, is being buried in a private family ceremony in his hometown of La Trinité-sur-Mer in Brittany.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French far-right nationalist party formerly known as the National Front, was buried on Saturday. Le Pen died on Tuesday at the age of 96. Around 100 police officers were on duty for the funeral in La Trinité-sur-Mer in Brittany.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s National Front who ran for president five times and lived to see his anti-immigrant rhetoric go mainstream, has died. He was 96.Most Read from BloombergNYC’s Subway Violence Deters Drive to Bring Workers Back to OfficeDutch Central Bank Restores Amsterdam’s ‘Ugliest Building’Can American Drivers Learn to Love Roundabouts?

Controversy was Le Pen's constant companion: accusations of racism and antisemitism dogged the National Front from when he co-founded the party.

Ceremony held for late French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen Watch more on Independent TV: The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking newsbrand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded.