Le Pen calls Nazis not so 'inhumane'

[SR-25]

PARIS: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front, has built his 50-year political career on a message of barely disguised racism and anti-Semitism.
.
But his latest attempt to rewrite the history of World War II has provoked deep shock and loud demands for his punishment here.
.
He was quoted as telling a rightist weekly that the Nazi occupation of France was not "particularly inhumane," that "excesses" were inevitable and that France had to be delivered from "lies about its history." The timing of the remarks, so close to the 60th anniversary this month of the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz in Poland, has added to the anger.
.
"Despicable," is how Justice Minister Dominique Perben described Le Pen's remarks in announcing a formal criminal investigation into whether the 76-year-old politician had broken the law.
.
"In denying the history of France, he's disqualified himself as a politician," Perben said on Europe 1 radio, adding that Le Pen "must explain what he said before a court of law."
.
Le Pen's remarks were made in an interview last week in a small-circulation, far-right weekly newspaper, Rivarol. But it was only when the daily Le Monde published highlights on Wednesday that France's political class reacted.
.
Under a 1990 revision of the press law, Le Pen could be charged for publicly denying the existence of "crimes against humanity" committed by the Nazis in World War II or making an "apology for war crimes."
.
If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine equal to $60,000.
.
In an interview with RTL radio Thursday, Le Pen said that his freedom of speech was under assault, that he was being attacked because of his opposition to the new European Union constitution and that he stood by his words.
.
"They are true, and it is rather scandalous that, 60 years after the war, one cannot express oneself in a coherent and calm way on these subjects," he said.
.
Before an appearance in court on Thursday, where he was appealing a conviction last spring for "inciting racial hatred," Le Pen called it "astonishing and shocking that the justice minister has not accorded me the presumption of innocence."
.
About 76,000 Jews were deported to death camps during the German occupation of France from 1940 until 1944, with the help of the collaborationist Vichy government. Only about 2,500 of them survived. Thousands of French civilians were killed in attacks by the German Army.
.
Le Pen, who in 1987 dismissed the Nazi gas chambers as a mere "detail" of World War II history, has been convicted of racism or anti-Semitism at least six times.
.
He has run for president four times and enjoys a strong following. In 2002, he came in second in the first round of presidential elections with 16.8 percent of the vote, crushing the Socialists and shaking the political establishment to the core.
.
"In France, at least, the German occupation was not especially inhumane, even if there were a number of excesses, inevitable in a country of 550,000 square kilometers," he was quoted in the interview as saying.
.
He questioned the veracity of the historical record of mass executions of civilians in France by the German Army.
.
"Besides," he continued, "If the Germans had carried out mass executions in all corners as the conventional wisdom has it, then there wouldn't have been any need for concentration camps for political deportees." Speaking in a relaxed tone peppered with slang, Le Pen also said that the Germans treated the French no worse than they treated their own German soldiers.
.
"Ah, of course, if one was caught with a weapon five minutes after four soldiers of the German Army had been gunned down, one would quickly have been bumped off," he said. "But note that the Germans acted the same way toward their soldiers who had sinned."
.
A fierce nationalist and opponent of the European Union, Le Pen also said, "It's not just from the European Union and globalization that we need to deliver our country, but also from the lies about its history."
.
He also suggested that the official version of the June 1944 massacre in Oradour-sur-Glane, the worst Nazi atrocity in France in World War II, was untrue. A German convoy rolled into the southern village, rounded up its residents and gunned them down before setting the buildings and the piles of bodies on fire; 642 people were killed.
.
"On the drama of Oradour-sur-Glane, there is a lot more to be said," Le Pen said, citing it in the context of examples in which he said the Gestapo actually tried to prevent civilian deaths.
.
Human rights and Jewish groups were quick to react. The Movement Against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples said it will sue Le Pen, calling his statements, "an intolerable offense and an insult to the memory and to the families of all who suffered physically and paid with their lives as victims of the monstrous crimes of Nazism."
.PARIS: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front, has built his 50-year political career on a message of barely disguised racism and anti-Semitism.
.
But his latest attempt to rewrite the history of World War II has provoked deep shock and loud demands for his punishment here.
.
He was quoted as telling a rightist weekly that the Nazi occupation of France was not "particularly inhumane," that "excesses" were inevitable and that France had to be delivered from "lies about its history." The timing of the remarks, so close to the 60th anniversary this month of the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz in Poland, has added to the anger.
.
"Despicable," is how Justice Minister Dominique Perben described Le Pen's remarks in announcing a formal criminal investigation into whether the 76-year-old politician had broken the law.
.
"In denying the history of France, he's disqualified himself as a politician," Perben said on Europe 1 radio, adding that Le Pen "must explain what he said before a court of law."
.
Le Pen's remarks were made in an interview last week in a small-circulation, far-right weekly newspaper, Rivarol. But it was only when the daily Le Monde published highlights on Wednesday that France's political class reacted.
.
Under a 1990 revision of the press law, Le Pen could be charged for publicly denying the existence of "crimes against humanity" committed by the Nazis in World War II or making an "apology for war crimes."
.
If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine equal to $60,000.
.
In an interview with RTL radio Thursday, Le Pen said that his freedom of speech was under assault, that he was being attacked because of his opposition to the new European Union constitution and that he stood by his words.
.
"They are true, and it is rather scandalous that, 60 years after the war, one cannot express oneself in a coherent and calm way on these subjects," he said.
.
Before an appearance in court on Thursday, where he was appealing a conviction last spring for "inciting racial hatred," Le Pen called it "astonishing and shocking that the justice minister has not accorded me the presumption of innocence."
.
About 76,000 Jews were deported to death camps during the German occupation of France from 1940 until 1944, with the help of the collaborationist Vichy government. Only about 2,500 of them survived. Thousands of French civilians were killed in attacks by the German Army.
.
Le Pen, who in 1987 dismissed the Nazi gas chambers as a mere "detail" of World War II history, has been convicted of racism or anti-Semitism at least six times.
.
He has run for president four times and enjoys a strong following. In 2002, he came in second in the first round of presidential elections with 16.8 percent of the vote, crushing the Socialists and shaking the political establishment to the core.
.
"In France, at least, the German occupation was not especially inhumane, even if there were a number of excesses, inevitable in a country of 550,000 square kilometers," he was quoted in the interview as saying.
.
He questioned the veracity of the historical record of mass executions of civilians in France by the German Army.
.
"Besides," he continued, "If the Germans had carried out mass executions in all corners as the conventional wisdom has it, then there wouldn't have been any need for concentration camps for political deportees." Speaking in a relaxed tone peppered with slang, Le Pen also said that the Germans treated the French no worse than they treated their own German soldiers.
.
"Ah, of course, if one was caught with a weapon five minutes after four soldiers of the German Army had been gunned down, one would quickly have been bumped off," he said. "But note that the Germans acted the same way toward their soldiers who had sinned."
.
A fierce nationalist and opponent of the European Union, Le Pen also said, "It's not just from the European Union and globalization that we need to deliver our country, but also from the lies about its history."
.
He also suggested that the official version of the June 1944 massacre in Oradour-sur-Glane, the worst Nazi atrocity in France in World War II, was untrue. A German convoy rolled into the southern village, rounded up its residents and gunned them down before setting the buildings and the piles of bodies on fire; 642 people were killed.
.
"On the drama of Oradour-sur-Glane, there is a lot more to be said," Le Pen said, citing it in the context of examples in which he said the Gestapo actually tried to prevent civilian deaths.
.
Human rights and Jewish groups were quick to react. The Movement Against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples said it will sue Le Pen, calling his statements, "an intolerable offense and an insult to the memory and to the families of all who suffered physically and paid with their lives as victims of the monstrous crimes of Nazism."
.PARIS: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front, has built his 50-year political career on a message of barely disguised racism and anti-Semitism.
.
But his latest attempt to rewrite the history of World War II has provoked deep shock and loud demands for his punishment here.
.
He was quoted as telling a rightist weekly that the Nazi occupation of France was not "particularly inhumane," that "excesses" were inevitable and that France had to be delivered from "lies about its history." The timing of the remarks, so close to the 60th anniversary this month of the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz in Poland, has added to the anger.
.
"Despicable," is how Justice Minister Dominique Perben described Le Pen's remarks in announcing a formal criminal investigation into whether the 76-year-old politician had broken the law.
.
"In denying the history of France, he's disqualified himself as a politician," Perben said on Europe 1 radio, adding that Le Pen "must explain what he said before a court of law."
.
Le Pen's remarks were made in an interview last week in a small-circulation, far-right weekly newspaper, Rivarol. But it was only when the daily Le Monde published highlights on Wednesday that France's political class reacted.
.
Under a 1990 revision of the press law, Le Pen could be charged for publicly denying the existence of "crimes against humanity" committed by the Nazis in World War II or making an "apology for war crimes."
.
If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine equal to $60,000.
.
In an interview with RTL radio Thursday, Le Pen said that his freedom of speech was under assault, that he was being attacked because of his opposition to the new European Union constitution and that he stood by his words.
.
"They are true, and it is rather scandalous that, 60 years after the war, one cannot express oneself in a coherent and calm way on these subjects," he said.
.
Before an appearance in court on Thursday, where he was appealing a conviction last spring for "inciting racial hatred," Le Pen called it "astonishing and shocking that the justice minister has not accorded me the presumption of innocence."
.
About 76,000 Jews were deported to death camps during the German occupation of France from 1940 until 1944, with the help of the collaborationist Vichy government. Only about 2,500 of them survived. Thousands of French civilians were killed in attacks by the German Army.
.
Le Pen, who in 1987 dismissed the Nazi gas chambers as a mere "detail" of World War II history, has been convicted of racism or anti-Semitism at least six times.
.
He has run for president four times and enjoys a strong following. In 2002, he came in second in the first round of presidential elections with 16.8 percent of the vote, crushing the Socialists and shaking the political establishment to the core.
.
"In France, at least, the German occupation was not especially inhumane, even if there were a number of excesses, inevitable in a country of 550,000 square kilometers," he was quoted in the interview as saying.
.
He questioned the veracity of the historical record of mass executions of civilians in France by the German Army.
.
"Besides," he continued, "If the Germans had carried out mass executions in all corners as the conventional wisdom has it, then there wouldn't have been any need for concentration camps for political deportees." Speaking in a relaxed tone peppered with slang, Le Pen also said that the Germans treated the French no worse than they treated their own German soldiers.
.
"Ah, of course, if one was caught with a weapon five minutes after four soldiers of the German Army had been gunned down, one would quickly have been bumped off," he said. "But note that the Germans acted the same way toward their soldiers who had sinned."
.
A fierce nationalist and opponent of the European Union, Le Pen also said, "It's not just from the European Union and globalization that we need to deliver our country, but also from the lies about its history."
.
He also suggested that the official version of the June 1944 massacre in Oradour-sur-Glane, the worst Nazi atrocity in France in World War II, was untrue. A German convoy rolled into the southern village, rounded up its residents and gunned them down before setting the buildings and the piles of bodies on fire; 642 people were killed.
.
"On the drama of Oradour-sur-Glane, there is a lot more to be said," Le Pen said, citing it in the context of examples in which he said the Gestapo actually tried to prevent civilian deaths.
.
Human rights and Jewish groups were quick to react. The Movement Against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples said it will sue Le Pen, calling his statements, "an intolerable offense and an insult to the memory and to the families of all who suffered physically and paid with their lives as victims of the monstrous crimes of Nazism."
.PARIS: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front, has built his 50-year political career on a message of barely disguised racism and anti-Semitism.
.
But his latest attempt to rewrite the history of World War II has provoked deep shock and loud demands for his punishment here.
.
He was quoted as telling a rightist weekly that the Nazi occupation of France was not "particularly inhumane," that "excesses" were inevitable and that France had to be delivered from "lies about its history." The timing of the remarks, so close to the 60th anniversary this month of the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz in Poland, has added to the anger.
.
"Despicable," is how Justice Minister Dominique Perben described Le Pen's remarks in announcing a formal criminal investigation into whether the 76-year-old politician had broken the law.
.
"In denying the history of France, he's disqualified himself as a politician," Perben said on Europe 1 radio, adding that Le Pen "must explain what he said before a court of law."
.
Le Pen's remarks were made in an interview last week in a small-circulation, far-right weekly newspaper, Rivarol. But it was only when the daily Le Monde published highlights on Wednesday that France's political class reacted.
.
Under a 1990 revision of the press law, Le Pen could be charged for publicly denying the existence of "crimes against humanity" committed by the Nazis in World War II or making an "apology for war crimes."
.
If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine equal to $60,000.
.
In an interview with RTL radio Thursday, Le Pen said that his freedom of speech was under assault, that he was being attacked because of his opposition to the new European Union constitution and that he stood by his words.
.
"They are true, and it is rather scandalous that, 60 years after the war, one cannot express oneself in a coherent and calm way on these subjects," he said.
.
Before an appearance in court on Thursday, where he was appealing a conviction last spring for "inciting racial hatred," Le Pen called it "astonishing and shocking that the justice minister has not accorded me the presumption of innocence."
.
About 76,000 Jews were deported to death camps during the German occupation of France from 1940 until 1944, with the help of the collaborationist Vichy government. Only about 2,500 of them survived. Thousands of French civilians were killed in attacks by the German Army.
.
Le Pen, who in 1987 dismissed the Nazi gas chambers as a mere "detail" of World War II history, has been convicted of racism or anti-Semitism at least six times.
.
He has run for president four times and enjoys a strong following. In 2002, he came in second in the first round of presidential elections with 16.8 percent of the vote, crushing the Socialists and shaking the political establishment to the core.
.
"In France, at least, the German occupation was not especially inhumane, even if there were a number of excesses, inevitable in a country of 550,000 square kilometers," he was quoted in the interview as saying.
.
He questioned the veracity of the historical record of mass executions of civilians in France by the German Army.
.
"Besides," he continued, "If the Germans had carried out mass executions in all corners as the conventional wisdom has it, then there wouldn't have been any need for concentration camps for political deportees." Speaking in a relaxed tone peppered with slang, Le Pen also said that the Germans treated the French no worse than they treated their own German soldiers.
.
"Ah, of course, if one was caught with a weapon five minutes after four soldiers of the German Army had been gunned down, one would quickly have been bumped off," he said. "But note that the Germans acted the same way toward their soldiers who had sinned."
.
A fierce nationalist and opponent of the European Union, Le Pen also said, "It's not just from the European Union and globalization that we need to deliver our country, but also from the lies about its history."
.
He also suggested that the official version of the June 1944 massacre in Oradour-sur-Glane, the worst Nazi atrocity in France in World War II, was untrue. A German convoy rolled into the southern village, rounded up its residents and gunned them down before setting the buildings and the piles of bodies on fire; 642 people were killed.
.
"On the drama of Oradour-sur-Glane, there is a lot more to be said," Le Pen said, citing it in the context of examples in which he said the Gestapo actually tried to prevent civilian deaths.
.
Human rights and Jewish groups were quick to react. The Movement Against Racism and for Friendship among Peoples said it will sue Le Pen, calling his statements, "an intolerable offense and an insult to the memory and to the families of all who suffered physically and paid with their lives as victims of the monstrous crimes of Nazism."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/01/13/news/lepen.html

[Batgirl]

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front, has built his 50-year political career on a message of barely disguised racism and anti-Semitism.

The first sentence of the article sums up Le Pen as the fascist he is

[0311Marine]

I really have no words to describe this guy, throwing off the Gas Chambers as just a detail???? Makes me not like france that much more that people like this can come in 2nd in there presidential race.

[Covertness]

Free speach?????? Presumed innocence in the courts?????

You're not in America sporto.