The founding father of France's far-right movement, Jean-Marie Le Pen, died Tuesday in a care facility after a short illness, his family said. He was 96 years old.

A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence. His statements — including Holocaust denial, racist denunciations of Muslims and immigrants and his 1987 proposal to forcibly isolate people with AIDS in special facilities — shocked his critics and strained his political alliances.