As France commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Vel d’Hiv roundup, the president of the LFI group in the Assembly wanted to draw a parallel with Emmanuel Macron, causing an outcry within the political class.
The commemorations of the appalling Vel d’Hiv roundup are usually one of the – rare – moments of unity within the political class. For the 80th anniversary, this solidarity was disturbed by Mathilde Panot, the president of the LFI group in the National Assembly. In a tweet published late Saturday afternoon, the Insoumise called for “don’t forget these crimes”. Before adding:Today more than ever, with a President of the Republic who honors Pétain and 89 RN deputies!»
SEE ALSO – 80 years of the Vél’d’Hiv roundup: “Our country must look its history in the face”, declares Élisabeth Borne
“Apologize to France”
His words caused a wave of indignation within the political class. “Beyond Shame. We dare not believe it. Remove this message and apologize to France, quickly”notably challenged Clément Beaune, the Minister Delegate for Transport. “No limit in indecency”, also denounced Olivier Dussopt, the Minister of Labour. Even within the left intergroup of the Nupes, voices were heard to be indignant. Jérôme Guedj, PS deputy and former close friend of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, thus recalled: “When we are legitimately offended by risky and insulting equivalences, we refrain ourselves from yielding to them. So in the same way as LFI≠RN, Macron≠Pétain. And especially on a day of commemoration and therefore of national unity, producing controversy serves the cause.
In her tweet, Mathilde Panot referred to comments by Emmanuel Macron dating back to 2018. The Head of State had called Marshal Pétain a “great soldier” during the First World War, considering that he was, as such, “legit” to pay homage to him, like all the other military leaders of 14-18. The president then added that Philippe Pétain had “leads to fatal choices” during the Second World War. At the time, many were outraged, including Francois Hollande. The former president claimed that “History does not isolate a stage, even a glorious one, of a military career”.
As for the Insoumise, this is not the first time that she has found herself pinned down. On July 7, after Elisabeth Borne’s general policy speech, the member for LFI declared that the Prime Minister was “a survivor”. The expression had already sparked controversy since Elisabeth Borne’s father had himself been a survivor of the Auschwitz extermination camp…
SEE ALSO – Pétain “savior” of the Jews: the request for dismissal of the trial of Éric Zemmour rejected