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STORY: French Jews Maury and Alain Fischler feel trapped between extremes.France is rushing into a snap election with the far right ahead in the polls, followed by a left-wing bloc they say harbors antisemites.The anti-immigrant National Rally or RN is the frontrunner to form France's next government.RN leader Marine Le Pen has taken a strongly pro-Israel stance over the Gaza conflict and joined a protest against anti-Semitism in Paris. For Alain Fischler, the son of a Holocaust survivor, that's a cynical ploy. The RN are courting Jews as cover for stigmatizing Muslims, he says.Le Pen seeks to present the party as an ally of French Jews.:: May 1, 2015She took the reins from her father, party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was convicted of inciting racial hatred for calling the gas chambers used to kill Jews in the Holocaust "a detail" of World War Two history.Her efforts have won over some French Jews.Like this representative - and RN supporter - from the movement of Jewish students of France at a recent protest. "I know these people's history but you know, it evolves. Political parties evolve. I am aware that 40 years ago they (the National Rally) were anti-Semitic. Don't worry, I agree with you. Today, it's no longer the same. We're in a different era, so I'm telling you, you have to vote for them."Currently second place in the polls is a leftist coalition, the New Popular Front.It includes France Unbowed or LFI, a hard-left party that opponents say has repeatedly crossed the line between criticising Israel's military in Gaza and antisemitism, which it denies.:: Jean-Luc Melenchon YouTube channelIts leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said earlier this month that antisemitism was "residual" in France, one of many comments critics said normalized anti-Jewish hatred.After a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped and insulted with antisemitic slurs last week, protesters took to the streets in Paris."Stop antisemitism, stop rape," this placard says.Among them was Joel Mergui, president of the Israelite consistory, a Jewish umbrella organization. "I would remind you that it is the attitude of France Unbowed (LFI) now that poses a problem for us. Because it is now that it is making anti-Zionist comments that lead to antisemitism. And that lead to tragedies like the one we've just experienced.":: May 1, 2021Melenchon denies being antisemitic and condemned the rape as did politicians from across the spectrum, including the RN.Three teenagers have been arrested.President Emmanuel Macron called the parliamentary election on June 9 after the RN trounced his centrist Together alliance in European elections.Maury Fischler says she'll stick with Macron, likening choosing between the others to being caught between the plague and cholera."I only have one option, and that's to vote for Macron. For all the... For me, it's... for the Republicans, that's it. The others, for me, it's impossible. LFI, the antisemitism it has shown, and the National Rally, which is for me, which remains, the RN, no matter what they say."Tensions over Gaza were already running high in France, home to Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities, even before the unexpected election exacerbated political tensions.
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