For years, the far-right National Rally tried to distance itself from Mr. Le Pen’s racist and antisemitic remarks. But after his death Tuesday, it hailed him as a visionary.

The co-founder of France's main postwar far-right movement Jean-Marie Le Pen divided the country even beyond the grave on Wednesday, with the government slamming street celebrations that took place in some French cities after his death.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s main far-right party, has died at 96. Anti-immigration and nationalist ideas that propelled his decades of popularity remain ascendant in the country, across Europe and beyond.