Jean-Marie Le Pen espoused racist and antisemitic rhetoric that landed him in legal trouble in France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

In a poll on January 5th of the 50 favourite French public figures, the only politicians who featured were Ms Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, her lieutenant. Jean-Marie Le Pen inhabited the unfrequentable margins. Ms Le Pen has never looked closer to power. ■

The death of Jean-Marie Le Pen, former leader of the party once known as the National Front, occurs at a time when the mainstreaming of far-right politics