Born in
Auray,
Brittany, Le Pen began his professional career with
Rennes where he spent six years. In 110 games, he scored once. Either a winger or central midfielder, he is renowned for his passing. He moved to Laval where he scored 14 goals in 50 games within two seasons. In 1999, he moved to Lorient, where in two seasons he scored 14 times in 63 games, scoring every 4.5 games. He stayed with Lorient until November 2001. Despite interest from
Rangers F.C he was then transferred to
Premier League side
Ipswich Town for FRF 15 million (GBP 1.4 million). He only played once in the league against
Bolton Wanderers, but got injured almost immediately resulting in only 12 minutes of play for the club. He made one more appearance that season in the
FA Cup and another the following season in the
UEFA Cup, but he never played again in a league game for Ipswich; it is assumed that he and his family never really settled in England. After that short taste of Premier League football, he returned to France and joined Strasbourg permanently in 2003 after a loan spell. He scored 16 times in 105 games and scored Strasbourg's first goal of the 2005–06 season with a free kick. While at Strasbourg Le Pen played as a substitute as they won the
2005 Coupe de la Ligue Final.{{cite news |url=https://racingstub.com/games/2572/ |title=Caen - RCS 1-2 |publisher=racingstub.com ==Later career==