Amelia Gentleman in Paris
Thursday January 13, 2005
The Guardian
The French government last night threatened to prosecute the outspoken far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen after he declared in an interview that the Nazi occupation of France during the second world war had not been "particularly inhumane".
In an interview given to an extremist rightwing paper, Rivarol, on the eve of Europe-wide ceremonies to mark the liberation of Auschwitz, Mr Le Pen made light of the tragic consequences of the German invasion of France.
"In France, at least, the German occupation was not particularly inhumane, even if there were a few blunders," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
He made no mention of the 76,000 Jews who were deported from France to concentration camps during the occupation, of whom only 2,500 survived.
CRIF, an umbrella organisation for a number of French Jewish groups, said the remarks were shocking.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,1389231,00.html