Radio J, a Jewish independent radio station, has infuriated leaders of the community by inviting Marine Le Pen to a political talk show.
Under heavy pressure, the station had to withdraw its invitation to the new leader of the extreme right-wing National Front party.
Frederic Haziza, head of the political affairs service of the station, said that he was "simply doing my job" by inviting her. In the most recent opinion poll, Marine Le Pen was credited with close to 25 per cent of the voting intentions for the upcoming presidential election. You can't simply ignore this fact. Moreover, she seems to reject the heritage of her father (Jean-Marie Le Pen, the long-standing leader of the National Front) of denial of the Holocaust."
Radio J's weekly political talk show, created by Mr Haziza, attracts regular attention in the French mainstream media.