The grave of French nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, has been desecrated, with vandals smashing the gravesite with a sledgehammer. The attack took place on the night of Thursday, January 30, at the Le Pen family tomb in La Trinité-sur-Mer. Police say that the cross of the tomb was completely destroyed and that other monuments to the family were also damaged in the attack.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau slammed those behind the attack, stating, “Respect for the dead is what distinguishes civilization from barbarism.”
Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Rally, called the act “unspeakable,” saying it was “committed by those who respect neither the living nor the dead.” The Lorient gendarmerie (paramilitary police) brigade is investigating the incident.
Jean-Marie Le Pen passed away earlier this month at the age of 96 after a prominent life in nationalist and right-wing politics. Le Pen was one of the co-founders of the Front National, which later became the National Rally.
Le Pen saw electoral success in the 1980s, winning a seat in the French parliament and later in the European Parliament. He also made it to the second round in the 2002 French presidential elections in a shock result but was defeated by former President Jacques Chirac.
Pas de mot pour qualifier les individus qui s’attaquent à ce qu’il y a de plus sacré. Ceux qui s’attaquent aux morts sont capables du pire contre les vivants. pic.twitter.com/KjmDrsxOzc
— Marie Caroline Le Pen (@MCarolineLePen) January 31, 2025
