Posted on Nov 11, 2023
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen raises a storm over her plan to march against antisemitism...
78
2
1
2
2
0
Le Pen is a likely contender for the next French presidential elections, but critics say her party has failed to shake off its antisemetic heritage.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has set off a cacophony of criticism over her plans to attend a weekend march to protest rising antisemitism in France, with critics saying that her once-pariah party has failed to shake off its antisemitic heritage despite growing political legitimacy.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, numerous political parties and citizens are to attend the Sunday march. Le Pen has said that she and her National Rally party also will be there, in what some see as an attempt to leverage the Israel-Hamas war to make herself more palatable to mainstream voters.
Party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, her father, was convicted repeatedly of antisemitic hate speech and played down the scope of the Holocaust. Daughter Marine — runner-up in the last two presidential elections and likely a top contender in 2027 — has worked to scrub the party’s image, kicking her father out and changing its name from National Front to National Rally.
But the party’s current president, Jordan Bardella, said in an interview on BFM TV this week that he doesn’t think Jean-Marie Le Pen is antisemitic, a remark that revived the link between past and present.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has set off a cacophony of criticism over her plans to attend a weekend march to protest rising antisemitism in France, with critics saying that her once-pariah party has failed to shake off its antisemitic heritage despite growing political legitimacy.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, numerous political parties and citizens are to attend the Sunday march. Le Pen has said that she and her National Rally party also will be there, in what some see as an attempt to leverage the Israel-Hamas war to make herself more palatable to mainstream voters.
Party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, her father, was convicted repeatedly of antisemitic hate speech and played down the scope of the Holocaust. Daughter Marine — runner-up in the last two presidential elections and likely a top contender in 2027 — has worked to scrub the party’s image, kicking her father out and changing its name from National Front to National Rally.
But the party’s current president, Jordan Bardella, said in an interview on BFM TV this week that he doesn’t think Jean-Marie Le Pen is antisemitic, a remark that revived the link between past and present.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen raises a storm over her plan to march against antisemitism...
Posted from nbcnews.com
Posted 6 mo ago
Responses: 1
0
0
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."He noted that legal action by his association, the Sons and Daughters of Deported Jews of France, had resulted in convictions of Jean-Marie Le Pen.
“For me, the DNA of the far right is antisemitism. So when I see a big party that grew from the far right abandon antisemitism, negationism and march toward republican values, I rejoice,” Klarsfeld was quoted as saying.
French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the far right without naming anyone, said in a speech Wednesday before the nation’s Freemasons that “some pretend to support our Jewish compatriots by confusing the rejection of Muslims and the support of Jews.”
This is not the first time the political class has kept Le Pen at arms length during marches. She was effectively shunned from a “unity march” in 2015 that drew world leaders after three terror attacks. Le Pen retreated to a party fiefdom in southern France, Beaucaire, and held a small march there. More recently, in 2019, she joined a huge protest against the government's pension reform — but had to be smuggled out because of protests against her."
..."He noted that legal action by his association, the Sons and Daughters of Deported Jews of France, had resulted in convictions of Jean-Marie Le Pen.
“For me, the DNA of the far right is antisemitism. So when I see a big party that grew from the far right abandon antisemitism, negationism and march toward republican values, I rejoice,” Klarsfeld was quoted as saying.
French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the far right without naming anyone, said in a speech Wednesday before the nation’s Freemasons that “some pretend to support our Jewish compatriots by confusing the rejection of Muslims and the support of Jews.”
This is not the first time the political class has kept Le Pen at arms length during marches. She was effectively shunned from a “unity march” in 2015 that drew world leaders after three terror attacks. Le Pen retreated to a party fiefdom in southern France, Beaucaire, and held a small march there. More recently, in 2019, she joined a huge protest against the government's pension reform — but had to be smuggled out because of protests against her."
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google