The extreme-right candidate in the French presidential election stated that she would ban the ritual slaughter of animals without stunning if elected.

Marine Le Pen, who finished second in the first round of vote last Sunday, made the statement during a campaign visit at a meat market near Paris.

Shechitah, the kosher slaughter of animals, requires animals be conscious when their throats are slit.

“Slaughter without stunning, I’m sorry, it should have special labels,” Le Pen said.

“Furthermore, I think that slaughter without stunning should be prohibited.” This means that Kosher meat would become illegal in France.

Le Pen’s statements came as the Walloon and Flemish regions of Belgium have recently indicated that they wished to ban slaughter without stunning by early 2019.-

In a reaction to Le Pen, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, head of the European Jewish Association (EJA), which represents thousands of Jews across Europe, asked ‘’if the Belgian Government would copy Marine Le Pen’s in France, by banning Kosher and Halal meat in Belgium.’’

“Mrs Le Pen’s statement on banning Kosher meat is not only racist, but is also a bare-faced direct attack on Jews and our practices and beliefs,’’ he said.

“We are and have been an integral and important part of France’s cultural and social fabric. Le Pen must not be allowed to rip this fabric to shreds,’’ Rabbi Margolin added.

“Nor for that matter should the Belgian Federal government make the mistake of copying this policy,’’ he said.

“Given the tiny number of animals going to slaughter for Kosher meat, and given that there is no tangible evidence that animals suffer any more from Kosher slaughter than non-Kosher slaughter, the message is clear: This is nothing to do with animal welfare and everything to do with seeking to marginalize and victimize a minority,’’ he declared.

“The Belgian Federal government must not stoop on this and make the mistake of copying the policies of a fire-brand rabble-rousing racist who seeks division instead of harmony and tolerance.”

In Paris, France’s Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia accused Le Pen of “fomenting hatred and war between the government and religions, as well as interreligious animosity” with her statement.

“It undermines the foundations on which France was built,” he said.

French Jewish leaders have called Le Pen a “candidate of hate” and urged voters to support the leading candidate, pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron, to keep Le Pen from winning at the runoff on May 7.

Macron won the first round with 24 percent of the vote. Latest polls show he would win the second round by more than 20 points.