Remarks by a leader of a far-left political party in France blaming Jews in general and the Jewish community in France in particular for the defeat last week of the British Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn. Under Corbyn, the party made its worst showing since the 1930s and lost in a landslide to the Conservatives, under pro-Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
A number of senior government ministers and members of French President Emmanuel Macron's party issued condemnations of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's remarks, while fellow members of Mélenchon's La France Insoumise ["Unbowed" or "Unsubmissive" France] party backed his attacks on the leaders of France's Jewish community.
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Mélenchon said that Corbyn had lost because of "arrogant orders from the [Jewish] communities and the council that represents Jewish institutions in France [CRIF]," and added that Corbyn had been "forced" to spend his time defending himself against insults and shots in the back from his own political camp.
"He was forced to run without being able to defend himself against gross accusations of anti-Semitism from the Chief Rabbi of England and the Likud's various networks of influence," Mélenchon said.
The politician said that rather than responding to the allegations, Corbyn had spent his time apologizing and "offering guarantees of good behavior," which Mélenchon said demonstrated "weakness."
France's Interior Minister, Christophe Castaner, responded to Mélenchon's remarks by saying that "hatred and the belief in conspiracy theories feed off one another."
French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer characterized Mélenchon's opinions as "loathsome."
Gabriel Attal, secretary of state to the Minister of National Education and Youth, who is of Jewish heritage, said that Mélenchon's comments were "very serious" because they attributed Corbyn's – and the Labour Party's – defeat to the Jews.
Supporters of Mélenchon said that he was not anti-Semitic and that he had been trying to make it clear that he would "not be influenced by financial or community groups."
