More than 1,000 attend Jean-Marie Le Pen’s memorial service in Paris

More than 1,000 people have attended a memorial ceremony for Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s main far-right party, National Rally.

A small crowd of people arrived at Paris’ Notre-Dame du Val-de-Grâce church 11am on Thursday to attend the mass in homage to Le Pen, who died last week at the age of 96.

Family members, including his daughters Marie-Caroline, Yann and Marine Le Pen, the latter of whom succeeded him as president of his party, joined other National Rally officials and supporters inside the church. Only the 400 or so invited guests were allowed to enter the church.

Onlookers outside, the vast majority of them men, were confined to the forecourt, where two giant screens broadcast the ceremony live.

The mass took place under tight security. Le Pen was a highly polarising figure, and was convicted multiple times for hateful conduct — including antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence.

Le Pen will be buried at a private funeral ceremony on Saturday in his home region of Brittany.