Q: You were quoted as saying that Jews were slave traders who became bankers, and that the yearly commemoration of Auschwitz is “memorial pornography.” At the same time, you say you are anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic.
A: I don’t consider myself an anti-Semite. I am supported in my political aspirations by a large number of Jews, whose parents were victims of heinous atrocities during the war. Yes, I’m anti-Zionist. It is a political project that is on par with apartheid, and it must be resisted.
Q: But did you say that Jews were slave traders who became bankers?
A: I wasn’t addressing all Jews. I was addressing a bunch of Zionists who came into one of my shows in Lyon, and who were screaming that Israel will be victorious, death to Palestinians and that sort of thing, and they injured a 13-year-old girl who was at the show. That part wasn’t in the paper. These people were Zionists. And because I was talking about slavery during the show, I made the parallel with Zionism. I was quoted out of context, but if you look at the transatlantic slave trade, which was legal for 400 years, you see among the traders people who were bankers, people of all sorts of backgrounds, but especially Christians and Jews. To say otherwise is to lie.
Q: You’ve broken up and gotten back together many times with your long-time collaborator Elie Semoun, who is Jewish. What did he think of your thing with Jean-Marie Le Pen?
A: He is in business now, and politics are dangerous for people in business.
Q: One of the strange things is that his cousin, Patrick Bruel, successfully sued you for libel after you called him a liar and a member of the Israeli military on a Quebec television show. Have you paid him the $75,000?
A: It’s not finished, and we should let the wheels of justice roll on.
Q: A lot of attention has been paid to what you’ve said about Jews, but it’s worth mentioning that you also make fun of Muslims.
A: In my shows I go after any extremism in any form. The divided communities, and the borders that divide us all, are a game to me. I play with them, and they get outraged. But that’s a good example. The Muslim community has never been hostile toward me. It’s like they have a better sense of humour.
Q: Doing jokes like that in, say, Iran would be slightly more dangerous than in France.
A: Maybe, but we aren’t in Iran. We are ostensibly in a country where we can laugh and have fun. The problem is that France is a country that is under the thumb of the Zionist lobby, and because of this the reaction to my words wouldn’t be out of place in a religious state.
Q: People hear you say things like this and suggest you are promoting hatred.
A: I don’t want to promote hatred.
Q: Le Pen has said some awful things.
A: He’s been quoted as saying some things, yes. I’m actually running against him for the European Parliament.
Q: How does he rate as a godfather to your daughter, Plume?
A: Ah, you are talking about the promotion of my last show, Je fais l’con (I’m Playing the Idiot), where I used a promotional strategy that was based on provocation.
Q: To say the least.
A: It was a way to promote my show.
Q: But he is still godfather to your child?
A: You can’t ask a magician his tricks. What I can say is that it was a way to introduce my show, and in the first 10 minutes of that show I basically told the story of getting Le Pen to be my daughter’s godfather. I mean, the whole baptism thing was fantasy. I have a profound respect for Christ, but the Church? Do I think putting water over the head of a child does anything? That’s open to debate.
