Former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin arrives at a national tribute ceremony for late French minister and European Commission President Jacques Delors in Paris, on Jan. 5, 2024.Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

Former French PM Lionel Jospin dies at 88 – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

PARIS — Lionel Jospin, a Socialist prime minister under center-right French President Jacques Chirac, has died at age 88, his family told AFP.

Jospin, a household name in France and a social-democratic heavyweight, left politics after failing to qualify for the second round of the 2002 presidential election, which saw far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen qualify for the first time.

The result sent shockwaves through the country and foreshadowed the National Rally’s steady rise to become France’s most popular party under the leadership of Le Pen’s daughter, Marine Le Pen.