Jean-François Jalkh’s stewardship of the National Front has been cut short over his claims about Nazi gas chambers Frank Augstein/APMarine Le Pen suffered a blow today as the interim leader of her far-right National Front party resigned over claims he had denied the Holocaust. Jean-François Jalkh, 59, was only appointed on Tuesday after Ms Le Pen vacated the post for the duration of the presidential run-off campaign in an appeal to the centre ground. The row over Mr Jalkh has undermined attempts by Ms Le Pen, 48, to give her movement a respectable image as she woos mainstream voters before the second-round showdown against Emmanuel Macron, 39, the independent centrist, on May 7. Mr Macron, who polls say is an overwhelming favourite to win the election, claims that behind Mrs Le Pen’s smiling face lies a party that remains attached to its racist and…

Source: The Times April 28, 2017 10:59 UTC