Michel Durafour (11 April 1920 in Saint-Étienne, Loire – 27 July 2017) was a French

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. He served in many government posts under Jacques Chirac,

Raymond Barre Raymond Octave Joseph Barre (; 12 April 192425 August 2007) was a French centre-right politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three presidents (Rey, ...

and

Michel Rocard Michel Rocard (; 23 August 1930 – 2 July 2016) was a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party (PS). He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991 during which he created the ''Revenu minimum d'ins ...

, and was

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Saint-Étienne from 1964 to 1977.Michel Durafour
from

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. Retrieved 30 May 2008 In 1988, while serving as Minister of Public Service in Rocard's government, Durafour was the subject of a reply to his suggestion to "exterminate the Front National" which provoked a "storm of criticism".L'Humanité – Libres Échanges
Retrieved 30 May 2008
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'' Retrieved 30 May 2008

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...

, a

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

defeated

Presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

, referred to Durafour as "Mr. Durafour-crematoire", a play on words as "four" is the French term for oven, and "oven crematorium" is a reference to the Nazi death camps of the Second World War.

Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans (France), The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced 1995 strikes ...

responded by stating that "There are words one does not make jokes about" while the French Socialist Party spokesman Jean-Jack Queyranne stated that "Mr. Le Pen is showing what he is at heart: a racist and an anti-Semite". Le Pen himself stated that he was responding to Durafour's own accusations regarding Le Pen's role in World War II, and that "Mr. Durafour is not just an imbecile but a bum".

Notes

1920 births 2017 deaths Radical Party (France) politicians Mayors of Saint-Étienne Politicians of the French Fifth Republic French Ministers of Civil Service Senators of Loire (department) {{France-mayor-stub