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"He said that the Gestapo worked, in the main, to protect the French population and was quoted saying: "In France, at least, the German occupation was not particularly inhumane, although there were some blunders, inevitable in a country of 550,000 sq km."

In the ensuing controversy, M Le Pen refused to apologise for his remarks, accusing the Government of trying to discredit him in the run-up to the referendum on the EU constitution.

"I note that if one compares the German occupation of France with the occupation in certain other European countries, then proportionately it is in France where it was the least painful," he said.

"It is scandalous that, 60 years after the war, one is not allowed to express oneself in a coherent and calm way on these subjects," he said.

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