Far right warns Madonna of 'consequences'
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Published: Aug. 21, 2012 at 12:14 PM
NICE, France, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- France's far-right National Front party warned of "consequences" if Madonna links the party's leader to Nazism in a video montage at a Nice concert Tuesday.
"Madonna does not understand French politics and she does not understand the concept of democracy," Nice FN chief Lydia Schenardi told the France 24 news channel. "The FN is a legitimate party and it is an unacceptable slur to link its leader to the Nazis. If she shows this video again tonight, we will certainly lodge another complaint for defamation."
The FN is not a recognized political party by the European Parliament, where Schenardi sits as a non-inscrit, or non-attached member.
During an MDNA Tour concert in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 31, Madonna briefly showed party leader Marine Le Pen in a video backdrop with a swastika on her forehead.
"If she tries that in France, we'll see what happens" Le Pen warned at the time.
Madonna used the same montage during her song "Nobody Knows Me" at a concert at the Stade de France stadium just north of Paris July 14.
Cheers erupted in the audience when Le Pen's face appeared bearing the Nazi symbol, France 24 said.
Le Pen's father, party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, said in 1987 the Nazi gas chambers of the Holocaust were "just a detail in the history of World War II."
Schenardi said the party, which has been covering up Madonna concert posters with Le Pen photos, would not disrupt Madonna's Tuesday night concert at t! he Stade Charles-Ehrmann, which in conjunction with the indoor Palais Nikaa can seat up to 50,000 spectators.
"She does not respect the FN or its leader but we respect people's right to listen to whatever music they want," she said. "There will be no incident at tonight's concert, but there will be consequences if she uses this footage."
Madonna's tour had no immediate comment.
Madonna begins the North American leg of her tour Aug. 28 in Philadelphia.