With two weeks to go before the first vote in France's rollercoaster presidential election, protesters disrupted a rally by far-right leader Marine Le Pen, while a poll showed the gap between the top four candidates narrowing.
"Following up on an interview with LCI, RTL, and Le Figaro on Sunday, she claimed that the Vel d'Hiv" roundup of July 1942 was "not France".
According to Politico.eu, Le Pen has framed her economic policies such as "parallel currencies, a renegotiation of France's European Union membership and a potential referendum on the euro - in a way that resonates with citizen's concerns, promising "intelligent protectionism" against the uncontrollable forces of globalization, ".
"This contradicts the historical truth as expressed in statements by French presidents who recognized the country's responsibility for the fate of the French Jews who perished in the Holocaust", a spokesman said, adding that the ministry regretted that anti-Semitism "is raising its head again today".
Le Pen is among the leading contenders in France's two-round presidential vote. Marine Le Pen has wooed Jewish voters, promising to be their "shield" against radical Islam.
Also throwing neutrality to the wind was Francois Durpaire, an educator and historian who co-authored a comic book titled "La Presidente" (using the feminine form of the noun) depicting France under Le Pen.
Israel's Foreign Ministry also condemned Le Pen's comments Monday.
"It does not in any way exonerate the personal and personal responsibility of the French who participated in the vile round-up of the Vel d'Hiv and all the atrocities committed during that period", she said.
Turkey's referendum and what's next
Erdogan claimed victory on Sunday after a majority of Turkish voters appeared to have granted the president sweeping new powers. The main secularist opposition People's Republican Party said it was still unclear how many votes were affected.
Violent clashes have broken out inside and outside a venue that was supposed to hold a rally by French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.
"The question now is, will the support for the Far Left hurt Le Pen, Macron or Fillon?"
Independent Emmanuel Macron and National Front leader Marine Le Pen were tied in first place with 24 percent support.
And he repeated his accusation after Marine Le Pen's latest comments, telling CNN affiliate BFM TV: "Some had forgotten that Marine Le Pen is the daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen".
It is a sign of the momentum behind the French Communist-backed presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon that one of the frontrunners has started attacking him.
In 2012, the Front National founder was convicted of the same charge after saying France's Nazi occupation had been "not particularly inhumane".
Some 13,000 Jews were deported by French police on July 16-17, 1942, many of whom first were detained under harsh conditions at the indoor cycling stadium.
"It makes me throw up", Lassalle said on Franceinfo radio.
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