France's interior minister, Manuel Valls, who is seeking to ban shows by the standup comedian Dieudonné, faced embarrassment as pictures emerged showing him apparently unaware that a group of young people with him were performing the reverse Nazi salute popularised by the comic.
Dieudonné is embarking on a nationwide tour from 9 January, but several venues have pulled out amid the recent publicity over antisemitic comments.
A photograph, taken during a visit to the southern region of Aveyron in September, shows Valls looking straight into the camera. Beside him are at least five young men performing the gesture known as the quenelle, with one arm down and the other crossed over the chest.
Val says Let 's be fair Valls did not realise this was happening and it shows this anti Jewish gesture is more widespread than the football field. Dieudonné is booked in to performing at Toulouse in February, I do hope the performance gets cancelled.
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