Marine Le Pen’s efforts to disassociate the French National Front from her father’s antisemitic legacy were not helped by this news:
France’s far-right National Front party placed a Holocaust denier on its list of candidates for the municipal elections in Paris.
The candidate, Pierre Panet, wrote in 2012 that he “shares the analysis of Roger Garaudy,” a convicted Holocaust denier. The L’Express daily reported on his candidacy Wednesday.
The same year, he told the AFP news agency: “I haven’t changed. I always credit Robert Faurisson, but I refrain from elaborating these theses because it is forbidden by law.”
Faurisson was also convicted of denying the Holocaust. He claimed the gas chambers never existed.
Panet is running for election on the National Front’s ticket for the 12th arrondissement in eastern Paris. Municipal elections are scheduled to be held on March 23 and March 30.
The party leader in the arrondissement, Christian Vauge, told AFP he has instructed Panet to adhere strictly to the party’s platform.
“I told him, let’s forget all that you thought in the past. I asked him to stick to the official line,” he said.
Ah. Well, that’s not reassuring at all, then.
Speaking of which, why is Ron Prosor still Israel’s ambassador to the UN?
Update: Speaking of the National Front, this seems entirely fitting:
The Russian government has invited some of Europe’s far-right parties to observe this weekend’s referendum in Crimea.
The leader of France’s National Front party, Marine Le Pen, told press at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday (12 March) that her executive has not yet decided whether to go.
The Austrian Freedom party, a National Front ally, also got an invitation.
Crimeans will go to the polls on Sunday to pick one of two options: “Are you in favour of Crimea becoming a constituent territory of the Russian Federation?” or “Are you in favour of restoring Crimea’s 1992 constitution? [on semi-autonomy inside Ukraine].”
With Russian soldiers and paramilitaries in control of streets and public buildings, the vote will effectively be held at gunpoint.
EU leaders have said the referendum is illegal.
