Loading ...French Socialists DEMONIZED HER …NOW WHAT !
Controversy
Marine Le Pen stirred up controversy during the internal campaign. During a speech to the party faithful in Lyon on 10 December 2010, she said that the weekly illegal blocking of public streets and squares in multiple French cities (notably the rue Myrha in the 18th arrondissement of Paris) for Muslim prayers was comparable with an occupation of parts of French territory. Specifically, Le Pen said:
For those who want to talk a lot about World War II, if it’s about occupation, then we could also talk about it (Muslim prayers in the streets), because that is occupation of territory. …It is an occupation of sections of the territory, of districts in which religious laws apply. … There are of course no tanks, there are no soldiers, but it is nevertheless an occupation and it weighs heavily on local residents.[37]
The mention of World War II brought claims from the media and politicians that she had drawn an irresponsible parallel with the Nazi occupation of France (May 1940 – December 1944).[38] Nearly the entire political and media class strongly criticised her statement, which was widely commented on by different political analysts.[39][40][41][42][43][44] Whereas the CRIF,[45] the French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM)[46] and the LICRA[47] denounced her statement, other groups like the MRAP[48] and the LDH[49] declared their intention of lodging a formal complaint. The imam of the Great Mosque of Paris and former president of the CFCM, Dalil Boubakeur, claimed that though her parallel was questionable and condemnable, she had asked a valid question.[50]
A member of the FN’s Executive Committee, Louis Aliot, denounced “the attempted manipulation of opinion by communitarian groups and those really responsible for the current situation in France”.[51] On 13 December 2010, she confirmed her statement during a press conference held in the FN’s headquarters in Nanterre.[52][53][54] After Jean-François Kahn‘s comments on BFM TV on 13 December 2010, she denounced “state manipulation” mounted from the Elysée with the intention of demonizing her in public opinion.[55][56]