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| Le Pen to be sued over gas chamber statements
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Jean-Marie Le Pen
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French anti-racist organizations are planning to sue Jean-Marie Le Pen, the French extreme-right party leader after he again dismissed the Nazi gas chambers as “a detail”.
Le Pen made the renewed comments during an interview on the BBC’s Hardtalk show which focused on the recent riots in France’s suburbs.
He had originally caused anger amongst Jews and anti-racism campaigners alike when he first made a similar comment in 1987.
Mere detail
During the one-on-one interview Stephen Sackur, the show’s host, recalled that less than a year ago Le Pen “described the Nazi occupation of France as ’not particularly inhuman’" and “the holocaust as a mere detail of history,”
 These statements are not only extremely grave but they were held abroad in order to avoid the French legislation and to send a European message to all the revisionists in Europe
MRAP | Le Pen jumped to his own defence. "That’s not the same thing. No, I didn’t say that. I shall tell you exactly what I said. I said the gas chambers were a detail of the history of the World War," he replied.
"And this is true. None of the leaders - Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin or De Gaulle - ever mentioned the gas chambers in their memoirs," the far right leader added.
In 1987, Le Pen stated on RTL radio that the Nazi gas chambers were "detail of WWII history." At the time he was condemned by a French court to pay a 183,200 euros fine, because of the mistake he made in "trivializing" the persecutions perpetrated by the Nazis.
Racist tendancies
Speaking about immigrants in France and their difficulties of finding jobs, Le Pen pointed out that "these people have a reputation for being fairly incompetent in work, being aggressive, and often being hostile.”
We are scandalized, it is unbelievable that he continues to declare that gas chambers are just a detail of history
SOS Racisme | Le Pen added that there was no need of being "surprised to find that employers tend not to recruit them, in preference to people of French descent."
When Sackur replied to him that when he would "say things like that it’s not hard to see why a majority in France see you as a racist and an Anti-Semite."
Scandalised
SOS Racisme, UEJF, the French Union of Jewish Students, the Licra, the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism, and the MRAP, the Movement against Racism and for Friendship among the peoples sued Jean-Marie Le Pen for maintening his gas chambers comments being a "detail of WWII history."
We interviewed Le Pen because he was the second most important candidate in France during the 2002 presidential elections
Bridget Osborne, BBC | "We are scandalized, it is unbelievable that the leaders of the Front National continue to declare that gas chambers are just a detail of history," Marilou Jampolsky, SOS Racisme spokesperson told EJP.
"The fact that it is a repeat offence and that he had been condemned in the past for such statements, this affaire will go quicker and the condemnation will be heavier," she added.
"Le Pen confirms and validates the anti-Semitic and revisionist nature of the Front National. These statements are not only extremely grave but they were held abroad in order to avoid the French legislation and to send a European message to all the revisionists in Europe," Mouloud Aounit, the MRAP Chairman said.
BBC response
Bridget Osborne, Hardtalk producer told EJP that the BBC did not want to do a sensationalist show, "we interviewed Le Pen because he was the second most important candidate in France during the 2002 presidential elections," she said.
"I do not see the difference between saying ’the Holocaust was a detail of history’ and saying that ’gas chambers was a detail of history’," she added.
"Through the interview, Stephen tried to show the inconsistency of Le Pen rhetoric and I think he has done a pretty good job."
On Tuesday, the French socialist party expressed its "indignation" in regard to Le Pen’s gas chambers statement.
Contacted by EJP, the CRIF, the French Jewish umbrella organization, declined to comment on Le Pen statement, "in order not to give him publicity."
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