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| French MP accused of saying Hitler 'didn't kill enough' Travellers | French MP accused of saying Hitler 'didn't kill enough' Travellers |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A centrist French MP is facing expulsion from his party and legal action by the state after allegations that he said of French Travellers: "Hitler maybe didn't kill enough of them." | A centrist French MP is facing expulsion from his party and legal action by the state after allegations that he said of French Travellers: "Hitler maybe didn't kill enough of them." |
| Gilles Bourdouleix, MP and mayor of the town of Cholet in the Maine and Loire region of western France, allegedly made the comments on Sunday during an encounter with a group of Travellers who had parked their caravans in a field owned by the local authority. | Gilles Bourdouleix, MP and mayor of the town of Cholet in the Maine and Loire region of western France, allegedly made the comments on Sunday during an encounter with a group of Travellers who had parked their caravans in a field owned by the local authority. |
| According to the local paper Le Courrier de L'Ouest, the meeting, in which Bourdouleix told the Travellers they would have to move on, was tense, with some Travellers accusing him of racism and a few making a Nazi salute towards him. | According to the local paper Le Courrier de L'Ouest, the meeting, in which Bourdouleix told the Travellers they would have to move on, was tense, with some Travellers accusing him of racism and a few making a Nazi salute towards him. |
| During the exchange, as reported by the newspaper, a man said to Bourdouleix: "You know how to talk better than [the former president Nicolas] Sarkozy." Bourdouleix replied that "the law must be implemented". There was murmuring and Bourdouleix reportedly said in a hushed tone: "Just goes to show that Hitler maybe didn't kill enough of them." | |
| When the MP denied the comments, the paper published a recording on its website. Bourdouleix, 53, insisted that he had been the victim of a "scandalous montage" and would sue. | When the MP denied the comments, the paper published a recording on its website. Bourdouleix, 53, insisted that he had been the victim of a "scandalous montage" and would sue. |
| The local prefect's office has moved to file a lawsuit against Bourdouleix for glorification of crimes against humanity. At least 200,000 Gypsies are estimated to have been killed during the Holocaust in the second world war. | The local prefect's office has moved to file a lawsuit against Bourdouleix for glorification of crimes against humanity. At least 200,000 Gypsies are estimated to have been killed during the Holocaust in the second world war. |
| The Socialist interior minister Manuel Valls said he hoped Bourdouleix would be sanctioned "very heavily". He said a mayor lauding Nazism was "intolerable". | The Socialist interior minister Manuel Valls said he hoped Bourdouleix would be sanctioned "very heavily". He said a mayor lauding Nazism was "intolerable". |
| France has one of the biggest Traveller communities in mainland Europe, with around 350,000 French Travellers, a nomadic population which is different from the Roma community from eastern Europe. | |
| In recent weeks, rights groups have warned of rising tension in France over non-settled communities, after several rightwing politicians spoke out against illegal caravan camps using strong language that the left said was provocative. | |
| Bourdouleix belongs to the centre-right grouping the Union of Democrats and Independents, UDI, headed by the former environment minister Jean-Louis Borloo. The party is to meet to discuss his possible expulsion. | |
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