International

Protests mar Le Pen visit

By Vaiju Naravane

Paris April 25.European parliamentarians gave short shrift to France's extreme right wing presidential candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in Brussels on Wednesday when he tried to make a speech at the European body of which he is a member.

Euro MPs booed Mr. Le Pen and brandished placards saying "No to hate" and "No to Fascism".

Mr. Le Pen, who is anti-immigrant, anti-Arab and anti-Semitic, ousted the Socialist French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, from the second round run off of the French presidential election.

In a stunning first round victory, Mr. Le Pen won 17.2 per cent of the vote while the incumbent Gaullist President, Jacques Chirac won nearly 20 per cent. The two men face each other in a run off on May 5.

Mr. Le Pen spoke for exactly 90 seconds during which he denounced Europe's West Asia policy. "France and Europe are absent in the region since they are taking orders from the U.S. This is deplorable," he said.

A milling crowd awaited Mr. Le Pen where he was to hold a press conference immediately afterwards. But he did not make an appearance. Several European bureaucrats had joined the journalists in the room. Many of them wore armbands denouncing Mr. Le Pen who cancelled his press conference saying the European body had failed to weed out outsiders.

"A press conference is for journalists only," said his deputy, Claude Martinez, adding that security was lax. Mr. Martinez received a pie in the face for his pains.

Several hundred persons demonstrated in Brussels outside the Parliament building. Demonstrations also continued across France.

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