FRANCE: Neo-Nazi National Front Party Sees Opportunities In Wake Of Attack

France's neo-Nazi National Front Party is already working to capitalize on nationalistic and racist sentiment in the wake of yesterday's terror attack by Islamic extremists. Via Slate:

For the first seven hours after the attack on the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, the National Front, France’s far right political party, kept an old feature about the influx of Roma and “gypsies” into French cities on its website. Then, shortly after noon, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the increasingly popular party with the slogan “The French Come First,” appeared in front of three French flags and hammered out her demands—and a selfless offer. It is time for “frank and clear responses” against “inaction and denial,” she declared. In other words: The country’s two main political parties have failed to stem the Islamist tide, and you the voters now have all the evidence you need that France requires new leadership. “I intend to assume this vital responsibility so France can defend itself in the war that has been declared upon her,” she continued. Marine Le Pen told a talk show host on Thursday morning she was “still waiting for her phone to ring” with an invitation from the prime minister to participate in Sunday’s national unity march. But Le Pen’s phone has remained silent. Government leaders are gambling that they don’t need her and can keep the National Front at a safe distance from its street-level display of strength and solidarity. For now, she will continue to taunt them from the other side of the barricades.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Last month the Kremlin lent the National Front €9M in the first installment of a reported €40M payment presumably meant to help tilt France's government to the far right. The National Front is a backer of the anti-gay Manif Pour Tous and has supported its numerous, vicious and often violent rallies, as have hate group leaders Brian Brown and Tony Perkins.  Founder Jean-Marie Le Pen has been convicted six times for inciting racial hatred, including for denying that the Holocaust took place. Last year he "joked" that his critics, who include Madonna, will be in the next "batch" headed for the gas chambers.  He has also "joked" that ebola is the "solution" to Europe's immigration problems. In 2013 Le Pen's daughter, Marine Le Pen, herself a failed candidate for France's presidency, praised the man who committed suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in protest of same-sex marriage. In February of last year Le Pen's granddaughter, 24 year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, led a massive anti-gay march through the streets of Paris. In January of last year the youth leader for the National Front called for France to institute anti-gay laws similar to those in Russia.

FRANCE: Magazine Ordered To Pay €20K For Outing Leader Of Neo-Nazi Party

France's Closer Magazine has been ordered to pay €20K for invading the privacy of a neo-Nazi party leader when it outed him as gay. Via Pink News:

Florian Philippot is the deputy leader of the French Front National – which was allied with the British National Party, and has been accused of fostering homophobic violence by aligning itself with aggressive anti-equal marriage factions and violent groups. Earlier this month, Closer published four pages of photos taken in Vienna of Mr Philippot with a television journalist presented as his boyfriend whose face was blurred out. AFP reports Gregoire Lafarge, Mr Philippot’s lawyer, had argued in court that the magazine had not acted in the public interest but purely to make money. “Mr Philippot is admittedly a public figure but he is not a celebrity and has always explained that sexuality is an intimate affair,” he said. “To ‘out’ (someone) is to stigmatise. After sexuality, what will we throw out to the public – religion, health?” added Mr Lafarge, who had initially asked for 50,000 euros in damages.

The magazine has also been ordered to publish the verdict on its front page.

FRANCE: Neo-Nazi National Front Leader To Sue Magazine For Outing Him

Via Radio France:

The deputy leader of France’s Front National is to take Closer magazine to court for printing photos it implies prove he is gay. Florian Philippot is to lodge a complaint against Closer for invasion of privacy, the party leader, Marine Le Pen, announced on Friday. The case comes amid dissent in the far-right party's ranks over recruiting openly gay members. Philippot does not want to give “this rag” any publicity, Le Pen told a press conference, but he will take Closer to court. Claiming that she and her children had also been victims of invasions of privacy, the far-right leader said she hoped that Philippot’s case would lead to a sentence severe enough to prevent the paper from continuing such practises. Le Pen is a trained lawyer and she and her party have a penchant for taking critics, including US-born singer Madonna, to court.

For a recap of the National Front's history of anti-gay actions, go here.

FRANCE: Vice President Of Neo-Nazi National Front Party Outed As Gay

Via the Telegraph:

A French gossip magazine sparked outrage across the political spectrum on Friday by "outing" the far-Right Front National's vice president, Florian Philippot, as homosexual. The rare breach of Gallic press protocol is an embarrassment for the FN, whose attitude towards homosexuals has historically ranged from ambivalent to downright homophobic. Closer, which scored a global scoop in January by publishing photos of French president, François Hollande, visiting his secret lover Julie Gayet, on Friday released pictures of Mr Philippot with his boyfriend, an unnamed TV journalist, on a trip to Vienna last week. "At last a real weekend away from Paris," it headlined, followed by an inside article entitled: "Yes to love for all" – a play on words with France's recent Marriage for All bill legalising gay marriage. Politicians across the board slammed the revelation as an unacceptable breach of Mr Philippot's private life.

Among those denouncing the revelation are National Front head Marine Le Pen and the Socialist Party, which pushed through France's same-sex marriage bill. Two weeks ago the Kremlin lent the National Front €9M in the first installment of a reported €40M payment presumably meant to help tilt France's government to the far right. And today we learn that there's an even worse French version of Ken Mehlman sitting on that pile of Russian money.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: The National Front is a backer of the anti-gay Manif Pour Tous and has supported its numerous, vicious and often violent rallies, as have hate group leaders Brian Brown and Tony Perkins.  Founder Jean-Marie Le Pen has been convicted six times for inciting racial hatred, including for denying that the Holocaust took place. Earlier this year he "joked" that his critics, who include Madonna, will be in the next "batch" headed for the gas chambers.  He has also "joked" that ebola is the "solution" to Europe's immigration problems. Last year Le Pen's daughter, Marine Le Pen, herself a failed candidate for France's presidency, praised the man who committed suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in protest of same-sex marriage. In February of this year Le Pen's granddaughter, 24 year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, led a massive anti-gay march through the streets of Paris. In January of this year the youth leader for the National Front called for France to institute anti-gay laws similar to those in Russia.

FRANCE: Kremlin Bank Lends Millions To Neo-Nazi National Front Party

Via TIME Magazine:

Is Russian President Vladimir Putin meddling in the internal politics of countries in the European Union? That seemed a strong possibility to some Europeans this week, after French political leader Marine Le Pen confirmed she had secured a €9-million ($11.1 million) loan from a Moscow-based bank, in order to run her right-wing National Front party. “At this stage, Russia is trying to influence French domestic policy,” says Jean-Yves Camus, a political researcher at France’s Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS). If so, Putin’s strategy resembles the Soviet Union before its collapse in 1991, when Moscow funded trade unions and political groups in western Europe in an attempt to buy influence and destabilize foes. “In this respect Putin is pretty much in line with the former USSR. It is the same policy all over again,” says Camus.

According to the Independent, the €9M loan is only the first installment in loans that will total €40M.  But that's not all the Kremlin is doing: 

There have been unconfirmed allegations in the United States that Moscow is funding the virulently xenophobic Hungarian party Jobbik and the avowedly neo-Nazi Greek party, Golden Dawn. A discussion paper from a Putin-supporting Moscow think-tank, leaked to the German press this week, urged the Kremlin to find ways of funding other Europhobic parties such as the emerging Alternative for Germany (AfD). The admiration of hard-line nationalist parties for Mr Putin is not only based on money. The Kremlin has gone out of its way to establish friendly ties with European political parties that share its view of the European Union as a meddlesome, US-controlled enemy of national sovereignty and destroyer of traditional religious and family values.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: The National Front is a backer of the anti-gay Manif Pour Tous and has supported its numerous, vicious and often violent rallies, as have hate group leaders Brian Brown and Tony Perkins.  Founder Jean-Marie Le Pen has been convicted six times for inciting racial hatred, including for denying that the Holocaust took place. Earlier this year he "joked" that his critics, who include Madonna, will be in the next "batch" headed for the gas chambers.  He has also "joked" that ebola is the "solution" to Europe's immigration problems. Last year Le Pen's daughter, Marine Le Pen, herself a failed candidate for France's presidency, praised the man who committed suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in protest of same-sex marriage. In February of this year Le Pen's granddaughter, 24 year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, led a massive anti-gay march through the streets of Paris. (What a family.) In January of this year the youth leader for the National Front called for France to institute anti-gay laws similar to those in Russia.

FRANCE: Former President Sarkozy Calls For Repeal Of Same-Sex Marriage Law

Former French president Nicholas Sarkozy, who is expected to run for president again in 2017, yesterday called for the repeal of same-sex marriage during a debate organized by a far-right group. Via the Guardian:

Referring to the “mariage pour tous” or “marriage for all” legislation passed by France’s Socialist government last year, he said it needed “rewriting from top to bottom”. His comments prompted catcalls from the 3,000-strong audience of the group Common Sense, and cries of “Repeal! Repeal!”. Sarkozy, appearing rattled, responded: “If you’d rather one says repeal the law and make another one … in French, that’s saying the same thing. It comes to the same result. “But hey, if that makes you happy, then frankly, it doesn’t cost much.” Sarkozy went on to say that he was in favour of some form of marriage for same-sex couples, but something different from that for heterosexuals, and that he opposed surrogacy for same-sex couples. The same-sex marriage legislation is known officially as the Taubira law after the justice minister Christiane Taubira who oversaw its introduction. “It’s no use being against surrogacy if you don’t repeal the Taubira law,” Sarkozy said to cheers and applause.

Sarkozy has been married three times. He has declared that "the roots of France are essentially Christian" and has advocated reducing the separation between church and state. In July of this year, he was arrested and charged with corruption on allegations that he interfered with an investigation seeking to prove that he "received up to €50 million in illegal campaign financing from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi." He faces a possible ten year prison sentence and his arrest was the first time in modern history that a former French president had ever been in police custody.

The viciously anti-gay Manif Pour Tous, whose movement is supported by local neo-Nazis and NOM's Brian Brown, is celebrating Sarkozy's declaration with dozens of tweets.

Manif Pour Tous Posts Brag Reel

France's La Manif Pour Tous today posted the below brag reel to recap last weekend's massive marches against gay families. The clip concludes with the headlines they earned in national newspapers.

FRANCE: Manif Pour Tous Stages Massive Marches Against LGBT Families

Via Radio France:

Thousands of people took to the streets in Paris and Bordeaux to demonstrate against medically assisted procreation techniques for lesbian couples and surrogacy. In Paris, the demonstrators, which consisted of adults and children, waved pink and blue flags as they marched from Porte Dauphine to Montparnasse. Around one thousand policemen were mobilised for the demonstration in the French capital. According to Ludovine de la Rochere, president of Manif Pour Tous that organised the demonstration, such techniques must be "fought at all costs.” Manif pour Tous had fought against the adoption of same-sex marriage in France last year. However, President Francois Hollande defied the protests and in April 2013, France became the 14th country worldwide to legalise same-sex marriage. An Ifop poll for the Atlantico website on Sunday showed that less than a third (31 percent) of French people were behind the values of the demonstration.

Attendance numbers have not yet been announced, but Manif Pour Tous said yesterday that they expected to exceed the 100,000 that demonstrated in February. Earlier marches ended with violent clashes with riot police, but today's rallies appear to have been peaceful so far.

FRANCE: Manif Pour Tous Recruits For This Weekend's Anti-Gay Parenting March

JMG reader David writes from Paris:

The Manif Pour Tous is recruiting for this Sunday's marches in Paris and Bordeaux. Yes, they're out to recruit teenagers and young adults! The local Lyon division is offering round-trip bus rides Lyon-Paris for 30 euros ($38). An article in yesterday's Le Parisien says the focus of this weekend's demonstrations in Paris and Bordeaux is to protest the European Court of Human Rights' recent decision that France must grant full parental rights to same-sex couples with children born via surrogacy or artificial insemination.

Previous marches have drawn hundreds of thousands and resulted in violent battles with riot police.

FRANCE: Manif Pour Tous To March Again

France's virulently anti-gay Manif Pour Tous is planning another massive march for October 5th.  Earlier marches drew hundreds of thousands across France where riot police were usually forced to respond with tear gas and arrests. Manif Pour Tous is backed by France's neo-Nazi National Front party and by a group which advocates for a Catholic theocracy. The head of MTP attended NOM's 2014 hate march in Washington DC so don't be surprised to see Brian Brown back in Paris next month. From the coming demonstration's press materials: "Because the exploitation of women is intolerable. Because the child is not an object. Because all children need a father and a mother. This, we do not want, either in France or anywhere else!"

RELATED: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced his 2017 bid to return to office by denouncing France's legalization of same-sex marriage. According to Sarkozy, same-sex marriage "humiliates" people who love the family.

FRANCE: Neo-Nazi Party Founder Jokes About New "Batch" For The Gas Chambers

National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen has again stirred national outrage across France after joking that his critics, who include Madonna, should be sent to the gas chambers.

The remark was contained in a video clip posted on the FN website and since removed. In the video, Le Pen railed against a number of critics including pop star Madonna and Yannick Noah, the French singer and former tennis champion. When asked about another one -- French singer Patrick Bruel, who is Jewish -- Le Pen said he would be part of "a batch we will get next time," using the word "fournée" for "batch", evoking the word "four", which means "oven". SOS Racisme said it would file a complaint "in the coming days" against Le Pen, whose daughter Marine took over as FN leader in 2011. She has sought to rid the party of its reputation for racism and anti-Semitism in recent years, and members were quick to distance themselves from the founder's comment. FN vice president Louis Aliot, who is also Marine's boyfriend, criticized it as "a bad phrase. It is politically stupid and dismaying." Another FN lawmaker, Gilbert Collard, said it was time for the party founder to "take his retirement".

More from the Wall Street Journal:

The president of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor, called on the European Union to strip Mr. Le Pen, who is a member of the European Parliament, of his parliamentary immunity. "Le Pen has unmasked the true face of the far-right of Europe days after their electoral successes in the European Parliament," Mr. Kantor said in a statement. "While some have tried to whitewash and mainstream these parties, Le Pen's comments demonstrate that they still stand on foundations of hatred, anti-Semitism and xenophobia." Mr. Le Pen later responded to the outrage. In a statement posted on the National Front website, he said the French word "fournée," which he used, had no anti-Semitic connotation. But several high-ranking National Front party members distanced themselves from the remarks of Mr. Le Pen, who is still honorary president of the party. Ms. Le Pen called her father's comments "a political error," according to French daily Le Figaro.

In late May the National Front won numerous seats in the European Parliament.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG:  Last month Jean-Marie Le Pen suggested using ebola on immigrants. The National Front is a backer of the anti-gay Manif Pour Tous and has supported its numerous, vicious and often violent rallies, as have Brian Brown and Tony Perkins.  Jean-Marie Le Pen has been convicted six times for inciting racial hatred, including for denying that the Holocaust took place. Last year Le Pen's daughter, Marine Le Pen, herself a failed candidate for France's presidency, praised the man who committed suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in protest of same-sex marriage. In February of this year Le Pen's granddaughter, 24 year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, led a massive anti-gay march through the streets of Paris. In January of this year the youth leader for the National Front called for France to institute anti-gay laws similar to those in Russia.

FRANCE: Madonna Vs Neo-Nazis

Yesterday Madonna today took a swipe at France's neo-Nazi National Front Party, which last week won numerous seats in the European Parliament. Today the National Front hit back.

France's National Front on Tuesday branded Madonna a "Granny Gaga" after the global pop icon became embroiled in a new row with the resurgent far right party. Madonna had enraged the FN in 2012 by showing a video depicting its leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika over her forehead at a Paris concert. She took another swipe at the party on Monday with a post on her Instagram account. The post featured the front page of French newspaper Liberation from May 26, the day after the FN topped the polls in European elections with a record 25 percent of the vote. FN vice-president Florian Phillipot responded with a sarcastic suggestion Madonna was seeking controversy to court publicity at a time when her career has been eclipsed by the global stardom of younger rival Lady Gaga. "In politics too, Granny Gaga has lost the plot," Philippot tweeted.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG:  Last month Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front, suggested using ebola on immigrants. The National Front is a backer of the anti-gay Manif Pour Tous and has supported its numerous, vicious and often violent rallies, as have Brian Brown and Tony Perkins.  Jean-Marie Le Pen has been convicted six times for inciting racial hatred, including for denying that the Holocaust took place. Last year Le Pen's daughter, Marine Le Pen, herself a failed candidate for France's presidency, praised the man who committed suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in protest of same-sex marriage. In February of this year Le Pen's granddaughter, 24 year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, led a massive anti-gay march through the streets of Paris. In January of this year the youth leader for the National Front called for France to institute anti-gay laws similar to those in Russia.

FRANCE: Neo-Nazi Party Leader Suggests Using Ebola To Stop Immigration

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's neo-Nazi National Front, says the solution to Europe's immigration "problem" could be ebola.

At a cocktail party before an election rally in Marseille on Tuesday evening, days before the European elections in which the National Front is leading the polls in France, Le Pen spoke of the "demographic explosion" in the world. "Monseigneur Ebola could sort that out in three months," he said in front of journalists. Later, addressing supporters, Le Pen, 85, said he feared the French population risked being "replaced … by immigrants". "In our country and in all Europe, we have known a cataclysmic phenomenon – a migratory invasion that, my friends, we are seeing only the beginning of today." Le Pen, who is standing as MEP for the south-east seat, added: "This massive immigration risks producing a real replacement of populations if we don't arrive in power soon enough to put an end to the politics of decadence that has been followed for decades."

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: The National Front is a backer of the anti-gay Manif Pour Tous and has supported its numerous, vicious and often violent rallies, as have Brian Brown and Tony Perkins.  Jean-Marie Le Pen has been convicted six times for inciting racial hatred, including for denying that the Holocaust took place. Last year Le Pen's daughter, Marine Le Pen, herself a failed candidate for France's presidency, praised the man who committed suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in protest of same-sex marriage. In February of this year Le Pen's granddaughter, 24 year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, led a massive anti-gay march through the streets of Paris. What a family. In January of this year the youth leader for the National Front called for France to institute anti-gay laws similar to those in Russia.

FRANCE: Haters Declare Victory After Government Delays Gay Surrogacy Bill

As I reported on Sunday, Manif Pour Tous and the neo-Nazi National Front drew tens of thousands of supporters over the weekend for rallies in opposition over a bill that would grant gay couples the right to use surrogacy to build their families. Today LGBT groups are angry and the haters are celebrating after the Hollande government agreed to delay the bill for at least a year.

Conservatives in France were heralding a victory on this week after President François Hollande’s administration announced it was delaying until at least 2015 a proposal to legalize "medically assisted procreation" (known as PMA in France) and surrogacy for same sex couples. But, in the opposite corner, the decision has drawn harsh condemnation from gay and lesbian groups. Rights group Inter-LGBT denounced the “major political cowardice of the government and the president,” according to a statement. They went on to say Hollande’s government “doesn’t take responsibility for its commitments, from which it has pulled back with an incredible series of back peddling moves over the course of several months,” the statement said. “This umpteenth climb down illuminates the government’s disdain for all lesbians.” Hollande’s administration announced on Monday it was postponing its plans to move ahead with legislation that would have legalized medically assisted procreation, like IVF, for lesbians, and tackled issues like surrogacy. Left wing politicians also seized on the government’s about face as a great failure. "The left has been deceived,” Far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon told the AFP. “I call for elections that will inflict severe punishment on the government.”

In better news, Manif Pour Tous did suffer a significant defeat yesterday with the European Parliament.

Manif pour tous', the French movement formed in opposition to France's legalisation of gay marriage last year, failed today to defeat a European Parliament report calling for discrimination protection to be extended to sexual orientation. The movement had conducted a high-profile campaign against the report and cooperated with other groups across Europe to deliver a petition with 200,000 signatures to MEPs. It was the first major pan-European effort by the group since Frigide Barjot, a former leader of the group, announced in Strasbourg in March last year that she wished to expand the movement's activities to a pan-European level. The group staged demonstrations against the report over the weekend in Paris, Lyon, Warsaw, Budapest, Madrid and Brussels with signs that read "Brussels, leave our kids alone".

The vote in the non-binding resolution was 394-196. The petition from Manif Pour Tous had over 200K signature. Read it here.

VIDEO: Yesterday Manif Pour Tous posted the below recap of its weekend hate rallies in Paris and Lyon.

FRANCE: Neo-Nazis Back Manif Pour Tous In Massive Anti-Gay Rallies

Led by Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, the 24 year-old granddaughter of neo-Nazi National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has been convicted multiple times for inciting racial hatred, today Manif Pour Tous yet again staged massive anti-gay rallies in Paris and Lyon, where tens of thousands marched against LGBT families. The granddaughter, seen in the first clip below, is the youngest person ever elected to France's Parliament. In the second clip, a demonstrator burns a paper bearing the name of French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira, who became a gay icon for her ardent support of same-sex marriage. France's gay marriage law is known nationally as "Taubira's Law." As the third clip explains, the theme of today's protest is anger over the right of same-sex couples to use surrogacy to build their families. A member of France's opposition UMP party is live-tweeting many photos from the event.



RELATED: JMG reader David writes from Paris to tip us to the below poll from Le Parisien, which asks its readers if Manif Pour Tous has any reason for continuing to exist. You know what to do.

New From Manif Pour Tous

Marriage has been legal there for months and months, but France's neo-Nazi supported Manif Pour Tour carries on. Today's clip announces major rallies in Paris and Lyon on February 2nd. Somebody want to translate all the graphics?

UPDATE: They have taken down the clip. JMG readers have provided recaps and translations in the comments.

FRANCE: Hate Party Youth Leader Calls For Ban On "Homosexual Propaganda"

Julien Rochedy, 25, the youth leader for France's neo-Nazi affiliated National Front party is calling for a ban on "homosexual propaganda" similar to the ban approved last year in Russia. Via Gay Star News:

"What I know is that the law bans LGBT propaganda in schools. That is their priority, and yes I would like that," he said in a radio interview. "Why not have it? Why not have it in the streets as well?" When told Russia has seen several arrests, suicides and murders since the law was introduced, Rochedy said that was "complete nonsense." Rochedy, known as the "beau bigot," is the rising star of the extreme right party. This "petit Putin" is often trotted out to argue on right-wing National Front social policies, known for his ability to seduce young voters. The party is recovering after suffering a major loss last year after same-sex marriage and adoption was passed into law.

RELATED: The National Front is a supporter of the anti-gay Manif Pour Tous. Its former president, Jean-Marie Le Pen, has been convicted six times for inciting racial hatred, including for denying that the Holocaust took place. Last year Le Pen's daughter, herself a failed candidate for France's presidency, praised the man who committed suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in protest of same-sex marriage.

Manif Pour Tous Goes To Italy

France's NOM-backed anti-gay marriage group Manif Pour Tous, which is now run by a coalition of far-right violent extremists, some of whom call for a Catholic theocracy in France, is taking their campaign to Italy.

Siamo lieti di comunicare che da oggi nasce La Manif pour Tous Italia con l’autorizzazione ed in stretto legame con La Manif pour Tous francese. La Manif pour Tous in Francia ha avuto l’inaspettato merito di risvegliare milioni di coscienze. Con un taglio trasversale portato avanti prima di tutto dalla gente comune, condiviso personalmente da personaggi politici di tutti gli schieramenti, da associazioni di persone omosessuali, e da credenti di tutte le religioni e non credenti, ha sostenuto con fermezza e rispetto che il matrimonio possa essere composto solo da un uomo ed una donna. Un movimento nato nella società civile e apertamente apolitico e aconfessionale. La Manif pour Tous Italia si sente in sintonia con queste istanze e con questo metodo.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

FRANCE: Vigils And Rallies Held For Murdered Pro-Gay Activist Clement Meric

Memorial vigils and rallies were held across France last night for murdered 19 year-old pro-gay activist Clement Vigil, who died yesterday after being attacked by neo-Nazis outside a Paris clothing shop. Many have blamed France's anti-gay marriage movement for spurring the attack, an allegation hotly denied by former Manif Pour Tous leader Fridige Barjot, who has vowed to sue a prominent marriage activist for making that claim.

Multiple arrests have been made in the killing.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced earlier on Thursday that seven arrests had been made, including that of the individual suspected of delivering the final blow to Méric. French President François Hollande, speaking on an official visit to Japan, said he "condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms." "I have given the most rigorous possible instructions so that the authors of the odious act can be arrested at the earliest possible juncture," he said in a statement.

The Parti de Gauche (Left Party) reflected the mood of many, especially on the Left, in France. "The horror of fascism has just killed right in the middle of Paris,” they said in a statement. “Violently beaten to the ground by a group of activists from the extreme right, manifestly from the group JNR (Jeune Nationaliste Revolutionnaire)," the statement added. For his part, the leader of JNR, Serge Ayoub, also known as 'Batskin', has denied his group's involvement in the attack. "That's absolutely false," he said.

Among the groups memorializing Meric last night was the anti-fascist organization to which he had belonged.

Frigide Barjot: Clement Meric Would Be Alive If France Hadn't Legalized Marriage

"This extreme fight is the result of a power that for nine months has refused to listen to the French people.  The President has caused extremism to grow by passing a law that the French didn’t want, and in a manner that was authoritarian and undemocratic.  When we refuse to act like a democracy, extremism grows. In a way, you could say that there was a death because of this denial of democracy.

"The President and Pierre Bergé, who financed Mr. Holland and is also a leader and a great financier of the LGBT community, are inciting violence against people protesting legitimately, not against homosexuals, but against the anthropological change of society. I condemn the violence and I condemn the remarks of Mr. Bergé.  I did not participate in the last [Manif Pour Tous] event, because I feared that the right-wing factions that have threatened me would be there and disrupt peaceful protesters." - Former Manif Pour Tous leader Frigide Barjot, actually blaming the murder of 18 year-old activist Clement Meric on the legalization of gay marriage.  (Via AmericanBlog)

NOTE: Clement Meric died today after being beaten into brain-death yesterday by anti-gay neo-Nazis who allegedly belong to the group that marched with Manif Pour Tous on May 26th.  Earlier today Barjot threatened to sue gay marriage activist Pierre Bergé for implicating her group in Meric's murder. Manif Pour Tous has been repeatedly praised by NOM president Brian Brown, who appeared at one of their anti-gay events earlier this year.  NOM remains silent on the murder of Clement Meric.

NOTE II: Barjot's quote above comes via Google Translate. French speakers are invited to visit the original source and provide corrections.