France: Far-right candidate quits over grassroots 'racism'
Far-right candidate quits over grassroots 'racism'
A National Front candidate for upcoming local elections in southwestern France has spectacularly abandoned her campaign, slamming what she called the racism and homophobia of her fellow activists in the far-right party.
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“I am of Algerian origin and I do not agree with some of the speeches from certain people at the head of the National Front in my department,” wrote Portheault in the October 11th letter, seen by local newspaper La Voix du Midi and excerpted on Monday.
The letter, which was also addressed to the party’s representative in the Haute-Garonne department Serge Laroze, went on to cite examples of racism and homophobia within the party.
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The young mother, who, according to the paper, had become a symbol of the National Front's purported new openness, sometimes appearing on television broadcasts on behalf of the party, claims that in fact she was stigmatized because of her Algerian origins.
“I wanted to be a candidate using my maiden name: Djelida. They strongly advised me to use my married name, even going so far as to tell me that my first name was already almost enough to put me at a disadvantage,” she said.
On one occasion, Portheault notes, an unnamed party member told her: “You and your children are fit for the oven.”
http://www.thelocal.fr/20131105/national-front-candidate-drops-out-over-racism-claims
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