Simone Veil and at least four other Jews were elected to the European Parliament in France yesterday. Mrs. Veil, who is France’s Health Minister and a serious contender for the presidency of the European Assembly; headed the pro-government list backed by President Valery Giscard d’Estaing. Public opinion pollsters said Mrs. Veil’s personal appeal was mainly responsible for his list’s victory.
Two other Jews, Claude Estier and Roger-Gerard Schwartzenberg, were elected on the Socialist ticket. One Jew, Mrs. Nicole Chouroqui was elected for the Gaullists and one, Georges Frishmann, for the Communists. Only Schwartzenberg, a university professor and Mrs. Chouroqui, an economist, are active in communal affairs. France’s 700,000-strong Jewish community represents about 1.5 percent of the country’s total population. France will have 81 representatives in the newly elected European Parliament.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
