Michel Durafour | |
|---|---|
| Mayor ofSaint-Étienne | |
| In office 1964–1977 | |
| Preceded by | Alexandre de Fraissinette |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Sanguedolce |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1920-04-11)11 April 1920 |
| Died | 27 July 2017(2017-07-27) (aged 97) Saint-Étienne, France |
| Political party | Radical Party |
Michel Durafour (French pronunciation:[miʃɛldyʁafuʁ]; 11 April 1920 inSaint-Étienne, Loire – 27 July 2017) was a French politician. He served in many government posts underJacques Chirac,Raymond Barre andMichel Rocard, and wasMayor ofSaint-Étienne from 1964 to 1977.[1]
In 1988, while serving as Minister of Public Service in Rocard's government, Durafour was the subject of a reply to his suggestion to "exterminate the Front National"[2] which provoked a "storm of criticism".[3][4]Jean-Marie Le Pen, afar right defeatedpresidential candidate, referred to Durafour as "Mr. Durafour-crematoire", a play on words as "four" is the French term for oven, and "oven crematorium" is a reference to theNazi death camps of the Second World War.[4]Alain Juppé responded by stating that "There are words one does not make jokes about" while theFrench Socialist Party spokesmanJean-Jack Queyranne stated that "Mr. Le Pen is showing what he is at heart: a racist and an anti-Semite".[4] Le Pen himself stated that he was responding to Durafour's own accusations regarding Le Pen's role in World War II, and that "Mr. Durafour is not just an imbecile but a bum".[4]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
