"I wanted to say 'Epstein', sorry, it sounds more Russian, 'Epsteen'. So now you'll say Epsteen instead of Epstein, Franckensteen instead of Frankenstein."
"I am not antisemitic. It wasn't me who made the connection between Epstein and his religion. That man had no religion, and there is no God who can claim such scum and filth as his own."
"Mangling the names of Jewish people in an attempt to make them sound 'foreign' is an old anti-Semitic trope, with a long history in France and around the world. It has been used over decades to push the idea that Jewish people are not 'real' citizens of their country."
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, made comments at a Lyon gathering about Jeffrey Epstein's name, suggesting it sounded Russian and joking about similar name pronunciations like "Franckensteen." The remarks sparked widespread outrage across France's political spectrum. Mélenchon denied anti-Semitic intent, claiming his comments were ironic and that he did not make connections to religion. However, in a subsequent speech in Perpignan, he similarly mispronounced MEP Raphaël Glucksmann's name. Glucksmann responded by comparing Mélenchon to Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France's far-right party. Deliberately mispronouncing Jewish names to make them sound foreign represents a historical anti-Semitic tactic used to suggest Jewish people are not genuine citizens.
#anti-semitism #french-politics #jean-luc-melenchon #name-pronunciation-controversy #far-right-comparisons
Read at The Local France
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