Followers of extreme right-wing leader Jean-Marie Le Pen have launched a publicity campaign promoting him as a world leader.
The crusade makes use of posters with a word written in Hebrew and a message that contains a buzzword often used by anti-Semites.
“This is the beginning of a 10-day campaign to show that Jean-Marie Le Pen is an international personality,” Le Pen spokesman Alan Vizier told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Tuesday.
Vizier was asked to explain why the huge blue posters calling for “Le Pen Quick” wrote “Quick” in Hebrew.
“Why not Hebrew?” was Vizier’s reply. He admitted, however, that it was “meant to startle the passerby.”
“He will have the answer to his question in a couple of days,” Vizier said cryptically.
The message by Le Pen supporters claims their leader is “understood and respected by patriots all around the world as being the champion of the interests of France and of the French first.”
Le Pen is extolled for “speaking on behalf of his people against the intrigues of the cosmopolitan lobbies.”
“Cosmopolitan” is a veiled reference to Jews, used to convey the myth that Jews are part of a worldwide conspiracy.
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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.