The former leader of France’s far-right National Front (FN), Jean-Marie Le Pen, was fined 30,000 euros ($34,000) Wednesday for repeating his view that the Nazi gas chambers were a “detail” of history.
A Paris court found 87-year-old Le Pen guilty of the charge of denying crimes against humanity.
The court rejected Le Pen’s claim that he had parliamentary immunity from prosecution.
The judges ordered the verdict to be published in three newspapers and said Le Pen must also pay 10,001 euros ($11,400) in damages to three charities which brought the case.
Le Pen, who has been succeeded by his daughter Marine as FN leader, first made the comments about the gas chambers in 1987. He repeated them in 1997 in Germany and then in 2008 and 2009 in the European Parliament.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
He returned to the subject in April last year, telling BFMTV: “Gas chambers were a detail of the war, unless we accept that the war is a detail of the gas chambers.”
The comments sparked a row with his daughter, Marine Le Pen, who has tried to move the party away from its anti-Semitic and racist image.
She has expelled her father from the party amid a bitter feud.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
