Who is Marine Le Pen? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

French Celebrities Born In August

Also Known As: Marion Anne Perrine Le Pen

Age: 56 Years, 56 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Louis Aliot (2009–)

father: Jean-Marie Le Pen

mother: Pierrette Lalanne

siblings: Marie-Caroline Le Pen, Yann Le Pen

children: Joan Chauffroy, Louis Chauffroy, Mathilde Chauffroy

Political Leaders French Women

Height: 5'9" (175 cm), 5'9" Females

Notable Alumni: Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University

City: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

More Facts

education: Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University

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1

What are Marine Le Pen's political views?

Marine Le Pen is known for her far-right political views, advocating for stricter immigration policies, national sovereignty, and a strong stance against the European Union.
2

Has Marine Le Pen ever won a presidential election in France?

No, Marine Le Pen has not won a presidential election in France. She has run for president multiple times but has not been successful in winning the office.
3

What is Marine Le Pen's stance on the European Union?

Marine Le Pen is a vocal critic of the European Union and has called for France to leave the EU, similar to the Brexit movement in the United Kingdom.
4

Has Marine Le Pen faced legal challenges during her political career?

Yes, Marine Le Pen has faced legal challenges during her political career. She has been investigated for hate speech and incitement to violence related to her statements on immigration and Islam.
5

What is Marine Le Pen's party affiliation?

Marine Le Pen is a member of the National Rally party, a far-right political party in France previously known as the National Front.

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Childhood & Early Life

Marion Anne Perrine Le Pen was born on 5 August 1968 in Neuilly-sur-Seine as the youngest daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen and his first wife Pierrette Lalanne. She has two sisters. Her father is an influential politician and a former paratrooper, and also a convicted racist.

Her childhood was not a normal one. Her parents hardly spent time with the girls who were more often than not, left in the care of their nannies. Her house was frequented by extremist political figures, and even as a small child she understood that her family was somehow different from the others.

A traumatic incident happened in 1976 when Marine was eight. Someone planted a bomb outside their house which exploded in the middle of the night and ripped a hole into the outside wall of the building. Even though no one was killed in the explosion, the incident scarred the young girl emotionally.

Despite her less-than-perfect family life, Marine excelled as a student. She first studied at the Lycée Florent Schmitt at Saint-Cloud before studying law at Panthéon-Assas University, graduating with a Master of Laws in 1991.

She proceeded to earn a Master of Advanced Studies (DEA) in criminal law in 1992. The same year, she also received the certificate as a lawyer (CAPA).

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Career

After being registered at the Paris bar association in 1992, Marine Le Pen began practicing as a lawyer. Meanwhile she had also joined her father’s political party, National Front (FN).

With time she ventured deeper into politics and intensified her involvement with FN. She quit the Bar of Paris in 1998 and joined the FN's juridical branch, which she led until 2003. In 2000, she joined the FN Executive Committee (bureau politique).

Working alongside her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was the president of FN at that time, she steadily rose through the ranks in the party. She became vice-president of the FN in 2003.

In 2006, Jean-Marie Le Pen decided to run for the presidential election in 2007 and entrusted his daughter with the management of his 2007 presidential campaign. Thus she was made one of the two executive vice-presidents of the FN and placed in charge of training, communication and publicity. Even though her father was not successful in his endeavor, the campaign helped the party gain mainstream notice.

Marine Le Pen’s growing stature within FN made her a serious contender for the post of the president which her father planned to vacate soon. She stood for the internal election to succeed Jean-Marie Le Pen as National Front leader in 2011 and won easily.

As the leader of the FN, Marine Le Pen was selected to represent the party in the 2012 presidential election against incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist candidate François Hollande. While she was unable to reach the second round, the election result did represent the best-ever showing for the National Front in a presidential election.

Over the ensuing years, she strengthened the position of FN in the national political scenario and eventually began detaching herself from her father’s often controversial stances on certain sensitive issues. Having successfully emerged from the shadows of her domineering father, she went a step ahead and began to soften the party’s radical far-right image.

In April 2015, her father provoked a political crisis in the National Front by making controversial statements about World War II and on minorities in France. In the wake of this, Marine Le Pen had her father expelled him from the party he had founded forty years earlier, thus marginalizing him in the French political landscape.

In April 2016, she announced her candidacy for the 2017 French presidential election. A highly popular political figure in the national political scene, she consistently maintained high popularity in polling figures. She selected David Rachline, a young FN member of the Senate, to be her campaign manager. In order to focus on her election campaign and to unite voters, she temporarily stepped down as the leader of the National Front in April 2017.

Major Works

Marine Le Pen was elected as the President of FN in 2011, thus succeeding her father Jean-Marie Le Pen. In this position she sought to soften the xenophobic image of the party and transform it into a mainstream party. She worked hard to create a new image for FN and was considerably successful in her endeavor. Under her leadership, the party’s popularity increased and she was able to strengthen its position in the national political scenario.

Personal Life & Legacy

In 1995, Marine Le Pen married Franck Chauffroy, a business executive who worked for the National Front. The couple had three children. The marriage, however, didn’t last long and ended in divorce in 2000.

Her second marriage in 2002 was to Eric Lorio, the former national secretary of the National Front. This union too ended in divorce.

She became involved in a relationship with Louis Aliot in 2009. Aliot is the vice president of the Front National since January 2011.

Facts About Marine Le Pen

Marine Le Pen is an accomplished equestrian and has a deep love for horses, often spending her free time riding and caring for them.

She is known for her passion for cooking and enjoys preparing traditional French dishes for her family and friends.

Marine Le Pen is an avid reader and has a diverse taste in literature, ranging from classic French novels to contemporary political works.

She is a talented painter and finds solace in expressing her creativity through art, often depicting scenes inspired by nature and French culture.

Marine Le Pen Biography

You wanted to know

What are Marine Le Pen's political views?

Has Marine Le Pen ever won a presidential election in France?

What is Marine Le Pen's stance on the European Union?

Has Marine Le Pen faced legal challenges during her political career?

What is Marine Le Pen's party affiliation?