France24
ean-Marie Le Pen, who is set to be tried for insulting homosexuals and inciting homophobia on June 13, told a French gay magazine this week that he is not homophobic – except his comments were, themselves, homophobic.
Le Pen, 89, told the magazine Friendly: « As long as homosexuals do not touch the fly on my trousers or of my grandchildren, and that they do not walk down the Champs-Elysees with a feather in their ass, I do not care. »
The founder of the National Front party, who has repeatedly described the Nazi gas chambers as a mere « detail » of history, said attacks against homosexuals « generally come from Muslims”.
« I make the difference between homosexuals and ‘homosexualists’ who are the ones who turn their personal sexual choice into political ideology, » he stated. « LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender – Ed.] is a lobby that wants to influence opinion, and stands as a representative of a community without the mandate, » he added.
The MEP is set to face trial for a series of comments against homosexuals. In March 2016, he said in a blog: « I believe pedophilia, has found its roots (…) in the admiration of homosexuality.” Then in December 2016 he told French newspaper Le Figaro that « homosexuals are like salt in the soup: if there is not enough it’s a little bland, if there is too much it’s undrinkable.”
Attends drag queen cabaret
In a possible attempt to soften the view of the judge ahead of his court date, he attended a drag queen cabaret show in Paris recently. At the famous cabaret « Chez Michou » he posed alongside the flamboyant owner of the popular nightspot and the local homosexual community.
The far-right politician published his memoirs at the end of February and they sold out before even arriving in bookshops. His publisher has had to arrange for a new print run to cope with demand after readers reserved 50,000 copies of Fils de la nation (Son of the Nation).
Despite this success, the party which he founded is desperately trying to ditch him and distance itself from all that he stands for. The National Front is awaiting a judicial decision about expelling him and on Sunday will vote on changing its name to finally close the controversial chapter of Jean-Marie Le Pen.