Francois Fillon, a leading contender in France’s presidential election next year, accuses Jews of not wanting to respect French law.
Fillon, a former prime minister who this week won the first round of the presidential primary election within France’s center-right The Republicans party, makes the assertion during an interview Wednesday for the Europe1 radio.
“I think that sectarianism is increasing today within the Muslim community and that the sectarianists are taking that community hostage,” says Fillon, who knocked former president Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round on Monday and will face off against Alain Juppe, another former prime minister, in the second round of the primaries next week.
“We need to combat this sectarianism and we need to do it as we have in the past,” Fillon continued. “We fought against a form of Catholic sectarianism or like we fought the desire of Jews to live in a community that does not respect the laws of the French Republic.”
Fillon neither elaborates nor says when he believes French Jews did not wish to respect the law.
— JTA
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