Posted on 05/05/2002 11:33:46 PM PDT by LarryLied
France's Jewish community, Europe's largest, welcomed the defeat of extreme right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in the presidential election on Sunday but warned that his score was worryingly high nonetheless.
''The French people have rejected the danger represented by Jean-Marie Le Pen, champion of the anti-Semitic, racist and xenophobic extreme right,'' the 600,000-strong Jewish community's main representative body, the CRIF, said in a statement.
Le Pen, who once called the Nazi gas chambers a ''detail'' of history, secured 18 percent in a runoff against Jacques Chirac, the conservative incumbent. That was marginally higher than Le Pen scored two weeks ago in a shock first-round vote.
The CRIF said Chirac's victory ''should not conceal the concern represented by the still overly large number of people who lost their way.''
Similar concerns were voiced in the United States.
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League that fights religious, ethnic and racial discrimination, said it was disturbing to see Le Pen nearing 20 percent.
''The good news is that he was defeated. The bad news, the sad news, is that one out of five French voters ignored the fact, or it didn't matter, or they liked they fact that he was a racist, a bigot, an anti-Semite,'' Foxman said.
Most French left-wing parties called on their supporters to back Chirac, like it or not, to shut Le Pen out.
Referring to French parliamentary elections taking place in June, the CRIF said there should be ''no compromise'' with extreme rightists. Le Pen's anti-immigrant National Front is expected to field a large number of candidates.
PROUD TO BE FRENCH
German-born Beate Klarsfeld, who lives in Paris with her husband Serge, a French Jewish Nazi-hunter, welcomed Sunday's vote, saying a Le Pen breakthrough would amount to a return to the days of the pro-Nazi Vichy regime of World War Two.
''Bravo for France! This vote shows the French people do not want to return to the past and do not want to be ruled by despicable people nostalgic for the Vichy regime,'' she said.
Her son Arno, a lawyer who campaigns with his parents, added: ''I am very proud to be Frenchman tonight.
''Contrary to what one hears abroad, France is not a racist country and its people have shown again that they know how to rally together when there is a danger threatening them.''
Le Pen's firebrand anti-immigrant rhetoric fuels fear among both Jews and Europe's largest Muslim population, which is mostly of North African origin.
A row broke out among French Jews last month when it emerged that some had voted for Le Pen in the first round on April 21.
Michel Zerbib, editor at Jewish radio station Radio J, said up to five percent of Jewish voters were estimated to have voted for Le Pen in the first round, most of them people living in blue collar areas with big Arab populations.
One explanation was that their vote was directed against the Muslim community of around five million, following a wave of anti-Jewish violence apparently linked to the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians.
Even if I oppose someone I hate when the media does that. Warning labels on people. Remember how they gave Weaver two new first names? "White Supremicist Randy Weaver" Every article, over and over.
Looks like the crazy rhetoric took its toll in Holland today, doesn't it?
OTOH, I think that we do a dis-service to people, even the French people. I do not assume that they didn't understand Le Pen's position -- I think many did. Instead, I think they understood as well as they wanted to and chose for the handouts to keep coming. That is, they're hooked on socialism because they think it gives them a free lunch...and it makes them feel good about themselves while actually accomplishing almost nothing...certainly nothing positive.
Tuor
She is Cuban.
She also happens to be Jewish just as my fellow Cuban high school classmate "El Chino" is considered to be just as Cuban as the rest of us but happens to be 100% pure blooded Chinese.
My Jewish Cuban friends jokingly refer to themselves as "Jubans".
In all the rallies I attended for Bush during the recount, never heard llena's faith mentioned. Assumed she was Catholic. Great lady.
Only after voting for him in three elections did I discover my south Florida Congressional rep is gay. He doesn't have tough reelections so mentioning it wouldn't help or hurt him one way or the other. He just doesn't, apparently, see how it is relevant. Neither do I.
Yes, but never at "La Lechonera". :-)
Lechon is a pig. Cubans, like Southerners, are big into Pig Pickin's.
La Lechonera specializes in roast pork. It's on SW 8th St somewhere between Ponce de Leon and Lejeune Road as I recall.
Remember, France has one of the same problems we do: A liberal news media that overestimates participation in rallies supporting the liberal side. Remember the "Million Moms March?" That was widely reported at highly inflated numbers by our own media.
I haven't studied French politics much lately, so I can't really say whether Le Pen is or is not a Nazi. But France was a great nation... once. Not since Napoleon have the French people had anything to be proud of. Maybe Le Pen couldn't have made a difference. We may never know. France will continue along the road to nowhere, gradually relinquishing its identity and its pride to the European Union.
Can anyone imagine a remake of the old musical, only now titled "An American in the EU?"
Sad.
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