Benoît Hamon, who was chosen on Sunday by France’s Socialist party as its candidate for this year’s presidential election has disavowed support he received from antisemites Alain Soral and Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala.
The support as offered by the far-right author and comedian before the second round of party elections. It was largely based on the opposition of Soral and Dieudonné to Hamon’s main party opponent, former prime minister Manuel Valls who has expressed strong support for France’s Jewish community and whose wife is Jewish.
“This move doesn’t con anybody, » Hamon said. Far from being support, it is a mediocre manipulation whose target is to divide those who oppose racisme and antisemitism.”
Hamon went on to attack the “tricks of the far-right and conspirationist and antisemitic currents who are looking to parasite the democratic debate between candidates of the left.”
On January 25, on his blog site « Égalité & Réconciliation », Soral called on people to vote for Hamon in order to “get Valls out of the presidential race”.
The following day, Dieudonné broadcast a video calling on his supporters “to play their card for anyone except Valls”.
Recent polls show that Hamon is unlikely to qualify for the second round run-off in the presidential election in April.
