The Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned a statement by far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who said that France was not responsible for deporting its Jews during the Holocaust.
It said she "in no way exonerates the effective and personal responsibility of the French people who took part in the terrible Vel d'Hiv roundup and in all the atrocities committed during this period".
Le Pen's comments are in sharp contrast to apologies for the Vel d'Hiv roundup that were issued by then President Jacques Chirac in 1995 and by the current French president, François Hollande.
She later defended her comments in a statement, saying: "I consider that France and the Republic were in London during the occupation and that the Vichy regime was not France", referring to the government at the time.
France is set to begin its two-round presidential election on April 23.
French physicist Serge Galam, who predicted a Trump victory, claims that a Le Pen presidency is very likely because of her strong base of support versus lukewarm feelings that exist for the other potential runoff candidates.
Polls show National Front candidate Le Pen and centrist independent Macron in a dead hit at around 25 percent heading into the first round on April 23.
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In a furious attack, Mrs May told ITV: "I'm not just a vicar's daughter, I'm a member of the National Trust as well". Theresa May's intervention on Cadbury's great Easter Hunt gaffe has been mocked on social media today.
Le Pen and her closest allies will hit the airwaves in a series of interviews meant to sway voters tempted by her vision of a nationalist France, unburdened by the European Union and the euro currency.
"This contradicts the historical truth as expressed in statements by French presidents who recognised the country's responsibility for the fate of the French Jews who perished in the Holocaust", a ministry spokesman said.
The CRIF umbrella grouping of French Jewish organizations and the Jewish students' union (UEJF) both blasted Le Pen for the comments, describing them as "revisionist". The mass arrest was ordered by Germany and a majority of the Jews were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
Jean-Marine Le Pen has called the Holocaust a "detail of history".
Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris contributed.
According to AP, gay voters are moving in Le Pen's direction with the first round of the presidential election just two weeks away.
Exactly a fortnight before voting in the first round of France's presidential election, the main candidates were all over the media or holding rallies - except one. Her success or failure will be widely interpreted as a measure of the continued strength of nationalist populist movements, which enjoyed two triumphs previous year in the Brexit referendum and Donald Trump′s election. France is facing a similarly shocking scenario: As the 11 candidates head into a debate Tuesday, the traditional left-right contenders are overshadowed by rivals pledging to turn today's system on its head.
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