Wiesenthal Centre Open Letter to Elisabeth Borne, Prime Minister of France
May 19, 2023
Madam Prime Minister,
You will recall our conversation, regarding the rise in extremism – both left and right of the political spectrum – and your concern particularly regarding the scourge of antisemitism in France.
(photo: France Bleu)
We bring to your attention the disgraceful depiction of President Macron as Hitler, in posters plastered all over Avignon, which seems to have become a stage for extremists, as denounced by our Centre on several occasions.
There is no humour, but pure contempt, for this defamatory depiction of the President of France.
The representation of Hitler has been used in the recent past, as in the case of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Turkish Islamic-newspapers, such as Güneş (The Sun), or also by Czech xenophobic far-right and extreme-left anti-Euro militants in Italy or Greece.
Madam Prime Minister, we urge that those responsible for these posters in Avignon be identified and called to account for their hate crime.
Most Respectfully,
Dr. Shimon Samuels
Director for International Relations
Simon Wiesenthal Centre
For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).
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