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.

A Holocaust denier and unrepentant extremist on race and immigration, the far-right politician has died at 96.

The French Left-wing opposition has defended public displays of joy that followed the death of the far-Right veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen.