French police are questioning a 40-year-old French antique dealer, Francois Hamon, suspected of having organized a neo-Nazi meeting last weekend in a provincial city. Haman was arrested Saturday night when local police were called to disperse a gathering of some 15 youths who wore Nazi-type uniforms and sang Nazi songs. Hamon had rented a 17th Century castle in the city of Blandy-les-Tours, about 60 miles from Paris, for the group. He said at the time that he was arranging for the meeting of an association with cultural activities.
The police found 15 youngsters, dressed in Nazi uniforms. Six were Belgians, six Swiss and two French. The group told the police that they belonged to a pan-European association and claimed that their salutes, which looked like the old Nazi “heils” were only “the Olympic greeting.” They denied being Nazis but were briefly detained by the police for questioning.
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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.