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.
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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.
