The desecration of the tomb of the National Front founder by unknown culprits has led to widespread condemnation

The final resting place of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the late patriarch of France’s right-wing movement, has been vandalized in the northwestern part of the country, according to local sources and photos circulating on social media.

According to Le Figaro, the grave of the founder of the National Front party in the town of La Trinite-sur-Mer, Brittany, was desecrated overnight at some point between Thursday evening and Friday morning. A police source told the French daily that the Celtic cross on the Le Pen family vault had been destroyed with a sledgehammer.

Images circulating on social media show parts of the memorial shattered and lying on the ground, with the nameplate displaced and flowers scattered. The local prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “violation of a grave, tomb, cinerary urn or monument erected in memory of the dead,” Le Figaro reported, adding that the cemetery has been closed.

The incident has triggered outrage, most notably from right-wing political figures. Marion Marechal, Le Pen's granddaughter and leader of the Identity–Freedoms party, said: “Do you think you can break our hearts, intimidate us, discourage us? Our response will be to fight you ever harder, generation after generation.”

Source: RT - Daily news