A French presidential candidate for the far-right National Front party skipped a visit to Washington's U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum where she planned to pay respects to more than 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany.
Marine Le Pen had planned to visit the museum Wednesday during a U.S. tour that also includes a stop on Capitol Hill and a visit to the United Nations.
A visit to the Holocaust Museum would have been seen as a dramatic gesture and a departure from her father, former party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. He has been criticized for minimizing the Holocaust and calling World War II gas chambers “a detail” of history.
Marine Le Pen has said she wants to broaden appeal for her party, known for its anti-immigration, anti-Islam views.
French Presidential Candidate Skips Visit to Holocaust Museum
Marine Le Pen in D.C. for U.S. tour
Copyright AP - Associated Press
