French presidential candidate honors deported Jews of World War II

Francois Hollande visits Holocaust museum, says Iranian threats are disturbing, but refrains from commenting on his policy toward Tehran

Posters of Francois Hollande, the French Socialist Party candidate for the 2012 presidential elections (photo credit: AP/Claude Paris)
Posters of Francois Hollande, the French Socialist Party candidate for the 2012 presidential elections (photo credit: AP/Claude Paris)

PARIS (AP) — French presidential candidate Francois Hollande has honored Jews who were deported during the Holocaust and expressed concern about Iranian threats toward Israel.

Hollande visited a memorial and museum to the Holocaust in Paris on Sunday and praised its work as crucial “for Jews and for humanity.”

Some 76,000 Jews were deported from Nazi-occupied France to concentration camps, and the overwhelming majority never returned.

Hollande said Iranian threats against Israel “disturb me,” but gave no indication of what his policy toward Iran would be.

Hollande, a Socialist, tops polls ahead of a May 6 runoff against conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy has worked to improve French relations with Israel and taken a hard line against Iran.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Most Popular
read more:
If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.