I would rather hear what was said without the 'conspiracy theory' commentary
Paris attacks: Jean-Marie Le Pen says French terror attacks were work of Western intelligence
17
January, 2015
The
Charlie Hebdo massacre may have been the work of an “intelligence
agency”, working with the connivance of French authorities,
according to Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the far right Front
National.
In
an interview with a virulently anti-Western Russian newspaper, Mr Le
Pen, 86, gave credence to conspiracy theories circulating on the
internet suggesting that the attack was the work of American or
Israeli agents seeking to foment a civil war between Islam and the
West.
His
comments – only partially retracted in an interview with the French
newspaper Le Monde today – provoked outrage amongst French
politicians. They will also infuriate Marine Le Pen, his daughter,
and successor as leader of the FN, who has been trying to distance
the party from her father’s extreme and provocative remarks.
Mr
Le Pen stood down as FN leader three years ago but remains
President-for-life. He made the comments in an interview with
Komsomolskaïa Pravda , a newspaper which had already blamed the
United States for the terrorist mayhem in France.
“The
shooting at Charlie Hebdo resembles a secret service operation but we
have no proof of that,” the newspaper quoted Mr Le Pen as saying.
“I don’t think it was organised by the French authorities but
they permitted this crime to be committed. That, for the moment, is
just a supposition.”
To
justify his comments, Mr Le Pen pointed to the fact that one of the
Kouachi brothers, who carried out the Charlie Hebdo massacre, left
his identity card in a crashed getaway car. He compared this to the
“miraculous fact” – beloved by conspiracy theorists – that
one of the passports of the 9/11 hijackers was found on the ground in
New York after two planes collided with the twin towers of the World
Trade Centre in 2001.
Mr
Le Pen made two other provocative remarks in the interview. He said
that the 1,500,000 who marched “against hatred” in Paris last
Sunday were not “Charlies” but “Charlie Chaplins” (ie
clowns). He also said that there were 15,000,00 to 20,000,000 Muslims
in France – three or four times the generally accepted figures of
5,000,000 people who are practising Muslims or have Muslim
backgrounds.
In
an interview with Le Monde today, Mr Le Pen repeated his suspicions
about the identity card but said he “could not recall” talking
about “secret services” to the Russian newspaper.
Mr
Le Pen’s original quoted remarks run directly counter to the
official line of his daughter and his party. They have suggested that
the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket are the final
proof that France faces an “enemy within”, which has been
created by immigration and open EU borders.
Conspiracy
theories of the kind espoused by the elder Le Pen sprang up on the
internet within hours of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. They have been
repeated in recent days by some – not all - young Muslims in
France, torn between identifying with the Kouachi brothers and
insisting that they were stooges of the French authorities,
Washington and Israel.
The
French “pope of conspiracy theories”, Thierry Meyssan, now based
in Damascus, insisted that the Charlie Hebdo massacres were “ordered
by US neo-cons and liberal hawks”. An American conspiracy site,
McLatchy, has claimed that the Kouachi brothers were working for
French intelligence.
Here is le Pen in his own words
Daria Aslamova: Monsieur Le Pen, you first made the statement "I am not Charlie". How come?
Jean-Marie Le Pen: I am not Charlie Hebdo. This anarchist rag is a direct enemy of our National Front party, and a few years ago its journalists were collecting signatures on a petition demanding our closure. And all these politicians who came to the demonstration - they too are not Charlie but 'charlots'! (so-called French clowns, comedians - DA) They can organize a big spectacle with strong media support and the slogan 'I am Charlie', temporarily mobilizing the nation, but they are not able to protect the country from the influx of immigrants from the south. I would like to be 'Charlie Martella'. (as French naval battleships were named, after the French military leader Charles Martel - DA) Martell, this brilliant French soldier, in 732 stopped the Arab invasion in Poitiers.
DA: But now we're in 2015!
J-M LP: Yes, and we live in a France with between 15 and 20 million Muslims. All French governments, left or right, allowed immigration, and even encouraged it. Every year another three hundred thousand people come, and they're not looking for work. 6 to 8 million people in France live on social benefits, which these immigrants come for. This is the result of a common Christian and European decadence. Europe has removed borders within the EU. And now, from the southern border, which nobody protects, leak hundreds of thousands of people into France. The whole thing amounts to intra-European betrayal.
DA: But France itself is partly to blame for this. People are fleeing from war and chaos. After all, France has turned Libya into ruins!
J-M LP: It was real crazy to get involved in a war with Libya. French planes bombed Gaddafi's tanks at a time when he was preparing to take Benghazi - the main stronghold of the Salafis (Wahhabis). Today complete anarchy reigns in Libya. From there, arms have been spreading across North Africa, and French leaders like Sarkozy are directly responsible for it.
DA: What do you think about the Ukrainian crisis and the division between Europe and Russia?
J-M LP: It was provoked by NATO, this Ukrainian crisis, as it tried to get closer to Russia's borders. The position of our party is this: the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a family quarrel. After all, Russia was born in Kiev. And neither Europeans nor the Americans need to interfere in this family drama. Russian and Ukrainians themselves will understand each other. But there is no doubt that the United States continues to treat Russia as the Soviet Union, and to try to shake your government with conflicts in Georgia and Ukraine.
DA: You are a member of the European Parliament looking into the situation with the downed Malaysian Boeing. What do you think about this crime?
J-M LP: The surprising fact is that all investigations are conducted in an atmosphere of great secrecy. I'm no expert, but it is clear to me that this kind of attack requires military professionals of the highest level, and high-precision weapons, which for militias are not simple to acquire and use. And the obvious question is: why was this civilian aircraft flying over a war zone? Who let this happen?
DA: This year a transatlantic partnership between the United States and the European Union will be signed. What are the benefits it promises Europe?
J-M LP: Yes, it would be a disaster! We've turned into an economic colony of America. The EU is moving in the wrong direction - to the West, and it is necessary to turn to the East, Russia. We need a united Europe - from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but a Europe of sovereign nations. Russia has demographic problems, and it is increasingly difficult for it to keep Siberia. However, Siberia - a geo-strategic location - is absolutely necessary for the survival of the whole of Europe. We need a strong alliance between Europe, with its high technology, and Russia, with its natural resources. If we do not, then our continent, with its demographic depression, in the cultural and economic sense, will simply disappear.
Look at Germany: it's a gold-plated coffin full of dead bodies. The Germans are a dying nation. How many children give birth in Europe? Per woman, on average, 1.3 children. And just to keep the previous level of the population requires 2.5. And now look at the world around us. Muslim countries, India - per woman, between 3 and 5 children. I've said nothing about China. If it cancels the rule of 'one family - one child', a population explosion will happen that will shake the entire planet. But Europe must be saved individually, without relying on bureaucrats in Brussels. France should withdraw from the EU to limit immigration and to solve economic problems on its own. We need to get the French to understand that our salvation lies in national sovereignty.
DA: But your National Front party is not even invited to the general demonstration against terrorism!
J-M LP: Because we are the defenders of the national idea. We had to be at the forefront, as it is the National Front that spoke of the urgent problems of immigration for many years! And on the possibility of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism.
DA: However, in the Charlie Hebdo affair, there are many unanswered questions.
J-M LP: I agree. These Kouachi brothers leaving their ID cards behind reminded me of that passport falling out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and miraculously surviving intact. Downtown New York City burned, but the passport was fine. They now tell people that the terrorists are idiots, which is why, they say, they left their documents in the car. The shooting at Charlie Hebdo has the hallmarks of being a secret service operation, but we have no proof. I do not think that the French authorities organized this crime, but they allowed this crime to be committed. This is only a guess.
DA: Why did the Charlie Hebdo magazine constantly insult Muslims and Christians, but hardly touched the Jews?
J-M LP: Because the Jews know how to defend themselves. Pay attention to the Femen organization. They can run around naked in front of the Pope, naked in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, but they never do that in the synagogue.
DA: Europe mourns the dead cartoonist, but does not see the death of Russian journalists in the Donbass.
J-M LP: Because it's real journalists, not the Trotskyists and anarchists at Charlie Hebdo. If I killed their colleagues in other French media, Charlie Hebdo staff would, with pleasure, 'joke' about their deaths.
DA: What are the chances of success for your daughter Marine Le Pen in the next presidential election?
J-M LP: Yes, she can win, but I'm afraid she will inherit the ruins of this country. France is economically, and irresistibly, heading for the abyss.
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