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French far-rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen. (AP Archives) Last update - 07:26 09/02/2008 France's Le Pen gets suspended jail term for comments on Nazi occupation By Reuters Tags: Jean-Marie Le Pen, Holocaust  A French court gave far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen a three-month suspended prison sentence on Friday and fined him 10,000 euros for saying that the Nazi occupation of France was "not particularly inhumane". Le Pen was found guilty of "justification of war crimes" and "contesting crimes against humanity" in the trial which opened in December. It centered around a comment Le Pen made in a 2005 interview with right-wing weekly magazine Rivarol, which angered the government, anti-racism organizations and Jewish groups. Advertisement The prosecution had requested that Le Pen be handed a five-month suspended sentence and fined 10,000 euros. Le Pen has always denied any wrongdoing and did not attend the trial. His defense team argued that his remarks were not part of an interview but of a casual conversation. "In France, at least, the German occupation was not particularly inhumane, although there were some blunders, inevitable in a country of 550,000 sq km," he was quoted as saying in the magazine. During the Nazi German occupation of France from 1940 until 1944, about 76,000 Jews were deported. Only 2,500 returned. In addition, thousands of civilians were shot for acts of resistance. French anti-racism laws have made denying the Holocaust a crime, punishable by fines or imprisonment. The court also fined the head of Rivarol magazine, Marie-Luce Wacquez 5,000 euros and ordered Jerome Bourbon, the journalist who wrote the interview, to pay 2,000 euros. Le Pen, who stunned France in the 2002 presidential election when he finished second, suffered a crushing blow in last year's presidential ballot when he finished fourth with less than 11 percent backing -- his worst showing since the 1974 vote. In June, his National Front party failed to win a single seat in legislative elections, meaning the loss of state funding that has forced Le Pen to put his party's Paris headquarters up for sale. More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   Intrigue at Heathrow According to the BBC, an IDF general dodged arrest as U.K. police feared shootout. Decency in remission A Ramat Yishai widow is suspected of faking cancer to receive donations from a charity.   1.   Le Pen: This man is a patriot 19:07  |  A Patriot Too 08/02/08   2.   poor France 19:26  |  hollingsworth 08/02/08   3.   A Martyr to freedom of speech 19:30  |  Matthew Kretzmer 08/02/08   4.   I find this entirely ridiculous. 19:33  |  Deborah 08/02/08   5.   To A Patriot 20:16  |  Avi 08/02/08   6.   FRANCE`S DOUBLE STANDARDS... 20:28  |  TripleJump 08/02/08   7.   Free speech 20:31  |  Steve Beikirch 08/02/08   8.   BS 20:40  |  Danite 08/02/08   9.   not just holocaust "denial" 20:57  |  hollingsworth 08/02/08   10.   Similar nonsense comes from the Israeli far-right 21:02  |  Oleg 08/02/08   11.   Thousands of civilians were shot for acts of resisting occupation 21:07  |  Occu 08/02/08   12.   some educated (?) smoothies here 21:12  |  bernard from 08/02/08   13.   Danite calling La Pen pig excercises his free speech 21:24  |  fahim 08/02/08   14.   TO HOLLINGSWORTH 21:41  |  Barry 08/02/08   15.   The thing is... 21:47  |  Colin Wright 08/02/08   16.   Freedom of Speech in France???? 21:51  |  B`Galil 08/02/08   17.   "not particularly inhumane" compared to what? 22:07  |  Efox 08/02/08   18.   # 2 hollingsworth 22:17  |  danny 08/02/08   19.   Thank G-d I live in the USA 23:03  |  Yosef ben Shalom 08/02/08   20.   More publicity for a senile has been.. 23:55  |  Stephen. 08/02/08   21.   Oh Danite 01:22  |  ballistic 09/02/08   22.   I laugh at French people now when they say "freedom" 02:28  |  Posca 09/02/08   23.   captain jack 03:57  |  uncle john 09/02/08   24.   ballistic 05:26  |  Danite 09/02/08   25.   fahim 05:27  |  Danite 09/02/08   26.   Efox 05:28  |  hollingsworth 09/02/08   27.   yes, 08:33  |  valerie 09/02/08   28.   # 17 excuse me for saying so, efox...(2nd try) 08:47  |  eric 09/02/08   29.   Reply to Deborah 11:14  |  Jean-Paul DOGUET 09/02/08   30.   To Colin Wright 11:27  |  Jean-Paul DOGUET 09/02/08   31.   Condemnation of Le Pen is condemnation of Israel. 12:13  |  Nick Ferriman 09/02/08   32.   He knew it was against the law and did it anyway 12:56  |  Petra 09/02/08   33.   Next, Le Pen will say Nazi occupation was a picnic 13:14  |  Petra 09/02/08   34.   Allo, Allo 13:26  |  Cheops 09/02/08   35.   Petra - Free Speech 15:41  |  Franco-American 09/02/08   36.   #32 It`s another example 16:01  |  Advocate4Liberty 09/02/08   37.   #1 Le Pen`s statement shows he`s anything but a patriot 17:12  |  Conroy 09/02/08   38.   Palestinian Predicament 18:08  |  Joseph . E 09/02/08   39.   re #30 `To Colin Wright` 21:16  |  Colin Wright 09/02/08   40.   Jean Paul Douget 22:12  |  Danite 09/02/08   41.   WORDS CAUSE PROBLEMS 22:31  |  TOBIA 09/02/08   42.   to Collin Wright 00:07  |  Jean-Paul DOGUET 10/02/08   43.   RESPONSE TO NICKF ERRIM 01:31  |  TOBIA 10/02/08   44.   re: eric 02:32  |  Efox 10/02/08   45.   re: hollingsworth 02:36  |  Efox 10/02/08   46.   Jean paul Doguet 04:00  |  Philippe 10/02/08   47.   Franco-american # 35 04:05  |  Philippe 10/02/08   48.   Le Pen 14:28  |  John Purchase 10/02/08   49.   John Purchase #48 22:52  |  Philippe 10/02/08   50.   # 44 oh but you`re wrong about me efox 05:24  |  eric 11/02/08   51.   haaretz steps in again 21:46  |  hollingsworth 11/02/08   52.   re: eric 10:32  |  Efox 12/02/08   53.   re: hollingsworth 10:34  |  Efox 12/02/08   54.   efox protected by haaretz 20:09  |  hollingsworth 12/02/08   55.   re: hollingsworth 23:27  |  Efox 12/02/08   56.   # 52 no no no efox, i didn`t say that; nice try 06:18  |  eric 13/02/08   57.   speaking of morality 21:11  |  holllingsworth 13/02/08   58.   re: eric 22:50  |  Efox 13/02/08   59.   re: holllingsworth 22:54  |  Efox 13/02/08   60.   # 58 i seriously doubt that you will be, efox...(2nd try) 05:12  |  eric 14/02/08   61.   re: eric 07:09  |  Efox 14/02/08   62.   to efox 16:41  |  hollingsworth 14/02/08   63.   re: hollingsworth 23:56  |  Efox 14/02/08   64.   It`s really up to haaretz at this point 01:19  |  hollingsworth 15/02/08   65.   # 61 i now understand completely, efox... 05:06  |  eric 15/02/08   66.   # 64 to holllingsworth regarding churchill`s article 06:08  |  eric 15/02/08   67.   re: eric 07:58  |  Efox 15/02/08   68.   re: hollingsworth 08:00  |  Efox 15/02/08   69.   to eric 17:37  |  hollingsworth 15/02/08   70.   to eric again 22:36  |  Efox 15/02/08   71.   # 67 no efox, i just returned your sentiments...(2nd try) 08:49  |  eric 16/02/08   72.   re: eric 11:09  |  Efox 16/02/08   73.   a bit more from eric`s "openly racist friend"