François Fillon, the former prime minister and leading centre-right candidate in this year’s French presidential election visited the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris on Monday and called for the eradication of antisemitism.
Fillon had been Minister of Education when President Jacques Chirac inaugurated the new space at the museum some 12 years ago.
Monday’s visit also provided an occasion for Fillon to meet publicly with Jewish community leaders following tension after remarks he made on the Europe 1 radio station appeared to imply that Jews at a certain point had “not respected all the laws if the French Republic”.
In a short speech at the conclusion of his visit, Fillon said: “We can see as we stand in front of the incredibly long list of the names of Shoah victims, how much the Nazis specifically and all those who assisted them – in particular, the Vichy regime, committed the ultimate crime.”
“We can see why it is necessary to work to preserve this memory in order to combat those who deny this crime and to fight against antisemitism and racism which continue to be a form of cancer for our humanity,” he added.
