Jean-Marie Le Pen was also… the godfather of comedian Dieudonné’s daughter: here’s how and why

Considered an anti-Semitic activist by many political and media classes, Dieudonné was subsequently condemned, on several occasions, by the French, Swiss, Belgian and Canadian courts for “provoking discrimination, hatred or racial or religious violence ” but also defamation, racist insult, negationism and apology for terrorism. Which did not prevent him from doing pirate shows in Belgium, in particular. And again recently.

“I am not familiar with Dieudonné, but I will defend him tooth and nail”

In 2014, at Paris Match, Jean-Marie Le Pen confided on his role as godfather to Dieudonné’s daughter, named Plume. According to the leader of the FN, he became one by chance, given that he had only met the comedian twice. Return to 2008: Dieudonné goes to the Montretout property, in Saint-Cloud, to ask the leader of the National Front to be his daughter’s godfather. “I was a little surprised by this approach but no more than that.” assures Jean-Marie Le Pen in Paris Match. “After all, many people have asked me to be the godfather of one of their children, I must have more than 20 godchildren.”

A role that he therefore accepted and therefore attended the baptism of little Plume. “Plume was baptized at the Saint-Éloi Church in Bordeaux, in July 2008, by Father Philippe Laguérie, an elder of the Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet parish, continues the President of the National Front. After the baptism, there was a family reception, it was friendly, kind. Dieudonné’s mother is Breton like me, that creates connections.”

A godfather status that he nevertheless had difficulty maintaining. “We only saw each other occasionally, maybe two or three times during those years. We don’t run in the same circles.”had specified Jean-Marie Le Pen, to Paris Match, also confiding to telephone “once a year” to his partner Noémie to get news from Plume.

During all these years, Jean-Marie Le Pen has never hesitated to defend Dieudonné, particularly during the quenelles affair (even among our Red Devils!). “I find this anti-Dieudonné campaign hateful and despicable. Because I am his daughter’s godfather, I would be responsible for what he says in his shows? I repeat, I am not familiar with Dieudonné, but I will defend him tooth and nail because I fiercely defend freedom of expression.”

And to conclude, he who has often been caricatured (notably by the irreverent newspaper Charlie Hebdo which today commemorates the 10th anniversary of their tragic attack), on his vision of humor made in Dieudonné. “His humor sometimes goes far, he has no taboos, he spares no one. But that doesn’t bother me. Is he crossing the line? I don’t care. What terminals? It’s none of my business. He is a singer, a comedian, not a teacher of deportment or morality. And then who decides that someone is going too far? On what criteria? Did the cartoons that depicted me as a turd surrounded by flies go too far?”