When more than 100,000 people marched in Paris against antisemitism on Sunday, one political group joining the crowd stood out – far-right Rassemblement National supporters with their leader, Marine Le Pen.
Their appearance was all the more remarkable considering Le Pen’s father, National Front founder Jean-Marie, was convicted of inciting racial hatred for saying the gas chambers used to kill Jews during the Holocaust were “merely a detail in the history of the Second World War”.
The march is the most striking sign to date that Le Pen’s strategy to normalise the party’s image is working, taking down one more barrier in her quest for respectability and boosting her chances in future elections, analysts say.
In France, analysts say Le Pen has implemented it so effectively that it is breaking the glass barrier many said blocked the far right from coming to power - a prospect that is horrifying critics who accuse her of political opportunism and of hiding her party’s true colours.
Le Pen’s strategy fits into what has happened elsewhere in Europe, in Italy for instance, where Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has taken a firmly pro-Israeli stance since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out, a line it embraced long ago to gain respectability.
In Britain, the right of the ruling Conservative Party has adopted a staunchly pro-Israel position and criticised the large demonstrations in support of Palestinians as “hate marches” led by “mobs”.
So when I see a big party abandoning antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and march towards the Republic’s values, I’m glad," French lawyer and Nazi-hunter Serge Klarsfeld said in Le Figaro newspaper.
The original article contains 822 words, the summary contains 233 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
'For me, the DNA of the far right is antisemitism. So when I see a big party abandoning antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and march towards the Republic’s values, I’m glad," French lawyer and Nazi-hunter Serge Klarsfeld said in Le Figaro newspaper.
Jewish organisations are more than sceptical, however.
The main French Jewish advocacy group has accused Le Pen of political opportunism. “For me, it’s a form of appropriation, of instrumentalisation of the march, which is obscene,” said Yonathan Arfi, head of the CRIF group.
Some welcome the far right changing their stance, but there are people who doubt the sincerity of it. They feel like it’s a populist move in order to lose the image of antisemitism, in order to appeal to more people, whilst intending to turn on them later.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Their appearance was all the more remarkable considering Le Pen’s father, National Front founder Jean-Marie, was convicted of inciting racial hatred for saying the gas chambers used to kill Jews during the Holocaust were “merely a detail in the history of the Second World War”.
The march is the most striking sign to date that Le Pen’s strategy to normalise the party’s image is working, taking down one more barrier in her quest for respectability and boosting her chances in future elections, analysts say.
In France, analysts say Le Pen has implemented it so effectively that it is breaking the glass barrier many said blocked the far right from coming to power - a prospect that is horrifying critics who accuse her of political opportunism and of hiding her party’s true colours.
Le Pen’s strategy fits into what has happened elsewhere in Europe, in Italy for instance, where Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has taken a firmly pro-Israeli stance since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out, a line it embraced long ago to gain respectability.
In Britain, the right of the ruling Conservative Party has adopted a staunchly pro-Israel position and criticised the large demonstrations in support of Palestinians as “hate marches” led by “mobs”.
So when I see a big party abandoning antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and march towards the Republic’s values, I’m glad," French lawyer and Nazi-hunter Serge Klarsfeld said in Le Figaro newspaper.
The original article contains 822 words, the summary contains 233 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
I’m confused, are the jewish worried or not? The headline suggests yes, the rest of the article is ambiguous about that
Not to mention the confusion between antisemitism and antizionism
That is because they aren’t of single mind:
Some welcome the far right changing their stance, but there are people who doubt the sincerity of it. They feel like it’s a populist move in order to lose the image of antisemitism, in order to appeal to more people, whilst intending to turn on them later.
Thanks, just checking I understood things right. For some reason asking for clarification deserves downvoting
These are polarizing times, certainly considering semitic subjects, unfortunately.