Le Pen, who had been in a care facility for several weeks, died at midday on Tuesday "surrounded by his loved ones."
Le Pen - a Holocaust denier and an unrepentant extremist on race, gender and immigration - founded the French far-right National Front party in 1972, BBC reported.
He reached the presidential election-run off against Jacques Chirac in 2002.
Pen's daughter, Marine, took over as party chief in 2011. She has since rebranded the party as National Rally, turning it into one of France's main political forces.
Jordan Bardella, who succeeded Marine Le Pen as party chair in 2022, said Jean-Marie had "always served France" and "defended its identity and sovereignty".
French Prime Minister François Bayrou said that anyone who fought Le Pen "knew what a fighter he was," while Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau offered his condolences to Le Pen's family and said that "a page of French history had been turned".
Far-right nationalist Eric Zemmour said on X that "beyond the controversies and the scandals" Le Pen would be remembered for being "among the first to alert France of the existential threats lurking".
bd-pratidin/GR
