Less than three months before the first round of a presidential election in France, the head of CRIF, the representative umbrella group of French Jewish institutions, Richard Prasquier, told the annual political dinner of the group that he has not given any instruction to Jewish voters but instead insisted on the existence of "yellow lines to those who spread a speech on ethnic preference and those who demonize Israel and call for its boycott,"a reference to the extreme right National Front as well as to the Greens and the extreme left parties.
In his speech to around one thousand people attending the dinner, whose guest of honor was French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Prasquier expressed his concern about the crisis in Europe and a return to nationalism and xenophobia. "The crisis is not confined to the economy," he said.
Several members of the French government led by Francois Fillon were present at the dinner Wednesday night at at Pavillon d'Armonenonville in Paris's bois de Boulogne, as well as opposition politicians, including Francois Hollande, the Socialist front-runner presidential candidate.
"The dinner has become over the years a must on France’s political calendar," one political observer told EJP.
"Autarkic nationalisms are back in Europe while we thought they were out of age", said the president of CRIF. "They offer simplistic explanations and reactivate xenophobia. The European bulwark must not crack".
"Some have muted their anti-Semitism, some not. But it has always to do with unacceptable rhetoric of the scapegoat," Prasquier said. "The (extreme right) National Front is part of that nebula."
He said that attempts by National Front President Marine Le Pen to makeover her image "does not fool whoever knows her history and her entourage." During the last months, Le Pen has tried to woo Jewish voters by stressing the danger of islamic fundamentalism.
"We will not vote for the National Front," insisted Richard Prasquier who noted that on January 27, the day which commemorates the Shoah, Marine Le Pen went dancing at a ball in Vienna with the most extreme rightists in Europe.
According to opinion poll company Ifop, French Jews appear after practicing Catholics, "the second group of voters most favourable to Nicolas Sarkozy."
Jerome Fourquet from Ifop says Jewish voters – some 300,000 people – have shifted from the Socialist left to the right since the seventies partly because of the positions of the left towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also because of the feeling of insecurity in the suburbs and more violent anti-Semitic incidents.
But Jerome Fourquet also mentions Sarkozy’s attachment to the Jews and to Israel as shown by his third presence at the CRIF dinner since he came to power in 2007.
"There is no Jewish vote. But there is certainly a sensitivity to two topics: France’s position towards Israel and anti-Semitism," says Richard Prasquier.
During Wednesday's dinner, Sarkozy reiterated his support for Israel which he called "a miracle" and "a democracy" that has risen from the ashes of the Holocaust.
But he used his reputation as a stalwart friend of Israel to warn that a military action against Iran was not the right way to deal with this issue.
He stressed several times his commitment to the security of Israel but added: "The solution is never military. The solution is political, the solution is diplomatic, the solution is in sanctions. We want the leaders of Iran to understand that they have crossed a red line, and to reassure Israeli leaders so that the irreparable is not carried out."
He added that if Iran’s leaders tried to wipe Israel off the map Israel would not stand alone defending itself but could count on France’s support.
However, the head of CRIF criticized France’s support for Palestinian membership of UNESCO, the United Nations cultural, science and education body. The president defended this decision and acknowledged that "some in the crowd were troubled by that."
"If I did it, it’s exactly because my entire history has been to be close to Israel," he said.
Israel could only live in security once its final borders with a "democratic, viable and modern Palestinian state" had been defined, he added.
He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was known for "firmness". "Someone who is firm must be open because he doesn't have to prove his firmness and his strength."
"I want to see Israel one day be loved and not just feared," Sarkozy said.