By Saskya Vandoorne
PARIS (CNN) — France’s far right-leaning National Front party is threatening to sue after singer Madonna showed a video of party leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika superimposed on her forehead during a concert in Paris.
“The images that were projected draw a terrible link between the party and an ideology that we reject,” party Vice President Florian Philippot said Monday.
The party took issue after the video was projected during a show at the Stade de France national stadium Saturday night.
“Just because she is rich and well-known does not mean we should accept such atrocities. It’s an insult against Marine Le Pen and an insult to all the National Front party members,” Philippot added.
Madonna’s publicist, Barbara Charone, said the star’s show “has been the same since it started in Tel Aviv” at the end of May, but declined to comment further.
The image is part of a video montage of several current and deposed world leaders that is projected onto a giant screen during the song “Nobody Knows Me” during Madonna’s current world tour.
After the image of Le Pen appears, it fades into one of Adolf Hitler.
The party had warned that it would seek legal action if Madonna showed the image at her concerts in France.
The National Front said the photo was altered for Madonna’s concert.
Le Pen made a strong showing in the first round of France’s presidential election. The daughter of party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, she pledged to crack down on illegal immigration and called for France to leave the eurozone and restore its currency, the franc. She also criticized France’s political integration into the European Union.
The National Front is the third-largest political party in France. In June, it won its first seats in parliament in 15 years, with two lawmakers elected.
The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta/+1-404-827-WIRE(9473)
™ & © 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
