Emmanuel Macron had undoubtedly anticipated the death of Jean-Marie and the reaction message that needed to be written. Without paying homage to him, he underlines the historical weight of the man who has just died.
How to react to the death of Jean-Marie Le Pen? A political figure who has spanned the decades, who founded a political movement which has continued to grow and attract supporters, throughout the political changes undertaken by his daughter, he was also a polemicist convicted of anti-Semitism, with a troubled past. during his military years in Algeria where he was among the legions of torture. For the President of the Republic, given the political weight of the menhir, it goes without saying that its disappearance should be the subject of a comment.
Emmanuel Macron apparently carefully prepared the few lines he wrote this Tuesday, January 7, 2025. The Head of State has thus found a formula to underline the extent of his political commitment, without necessarily pay the slightest homage. The president thus describes Jean-Marie Le Pen as a “historical figure of the extreme right”, whose “role in the public life of our country for almost seventy years (…) is now subject to the judgment of history”.
This last sentence, obviously well thought out, suggests that the political career of Jean-Marie Le Pen, marked by racist and anti-Semitic positions, will be described factually in the future and that everyone will then be able to measure whether he is a personality estimable or not. Understand, implicitly, no.
The services of the presidential palace, which transmitted the reaction of the head of state, are not signed with the name of Emmanuel Macron, but with “the Elysée”. This message was also not posted online on social networks, unlike other press releases written for leading figures to whom Emmanuel Macron wishes to pay tribute.