In Interest Of Balance, France Also Invited Hitler To Paris Rally

Paris, January 12 – Amid reports that France had discouraged the Israeli Prime Minister from  attending yesterday’s rally, and that when he informed them of his intention to attend they invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, sources within the Elysee Palace leaked information that the French government had first tried to invite German leader Adolph Hitler, but had to settle for Abbas when Hitler was unavailable.

Dozens of world leaders gathered yesterday along with more than a million Frenchpeople to protest the rising tide of Islamic terrorism and attacks on freedom of expression – and to a lesser degree, the attacks on Jews that have plagued France for several years. Mr. Netanyahu’s plan to attend the demonstration caused a scramble in Paris, as the Hollande administration did not wish to appear to endorse Netanyahu’s policies by granting him such a public display of solidarity, especially with Israeli parliamentary elections scheduled for March 17. Paris therefore sought to counteract such an impression by inviting a Netanyahu foe, the obvious choice being der Fuhrer.

However, say the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the information, Hitler did not respond to the French overture, and Hollande was forced to issue an invitation to the next-best choice, Abbas.

Hitler would have been ideal for other reasons, explains analyst Hoist Petard. “The iconic German leader would lend an epic quality to the event, something that none of the other world leaders in attendance can boast. With all due respect to David Cameron, he’s no Hitler.”

What’s more, says Petard, Hitler has been to Paris on important occasions before, notably in 1940, and he demonstrated a keen sense of history at the time by having the French armed forces surrender in the very same railroad car in which German forces had signed their capitulation in 1917. “All of the people in attendance had a sense that something of tremendous significance was happening yesterday, but it takes someone of Adolph Hitler’s perceptiveness to really grasp the historical context of contemporary events and mark it appropriately,” he noted.

“But at least the Hollande administration understood what side deserves their support,” he conceded. “That should count for something.”

Find more of David’s sarcasm at PreOccupied Territory.