Tensions between Marine Le Pen , the leader of the French National Front , and her father have escalated , as the 86-year-old founder of the far-right party defended having described Nazi gas chambers as a 'detail of history ' . In words which will revive accusations that the far-Right party remains anti-Semitic , Jean-Marie Le Pen said he had 'never regretted ' making similar statements in the past . His daughter and current leader of the party Marine Le Pen immediately distanced herself from the comments saying she 'deeply disagrees ' with her 'deliberately provocative ' father . Tensions between French National Front leader Marine Le Pen ( right ) and her father worsened today as the founder of the far-right party ( left ) defended having described Nazi gas chambers as a 'detail of history ' Reigniting old tensions , Mr Le Pen , who is the founding father of the National Front ( FN ) and still an MEP , said : 'What I said corresponds to what I think . 'The gas chambers were a detail of the war , unless we admit that the war was a detail of the gas chambers ! ' During an interview on BFM TV in Paris , Mr Le Pen said 'the truth ' should 'not shock anyone ' , and that historical reality should not be used to portray him as anti-Jewish . 'This case was manipulated against me by introducing a hint of anti-Semitism , ' said Mr Le Pen . ' I challenge anyone to name an anti-Semitic phrase in my political life . 'Repeatedly questioned about the Holocaust , Mr Le Pen said : 'War is horrible , you know , a piece of shrapnel that tears your stomach , a bomb that decapitates you , a room in which you are asphyxiated , it 's all pretty disgusting , it 's true . ' Firebrand : Reigniting old tensions , Mr Le Pen , who is the founding father of the National Front ( FN ) and still an MEP , said : 'The gas chambers were a detail of the war ' Mr Le Pen 's daughter , Marine Le Pen , is now the leader of the National Front ( FN ) and has tried to steer it away from its anti-Semitic and racist roots . Speaking to the website of Le Figaro daily about her father , she said : ' I deeply disagree with him . ' I take note of what he said but I believe that those coming over to vote for us understand what is going on . He is being deliberately provocative . ' Ms Le Pen 's party regularly wins up to 25 per cent of the popular vote at local and regional elections , and Ms Le Pen intends to stand for the job of president in 2017 . Under her leadership , the party has deepened its roots across France , winning outright control of some town halls and getting its officials elected onto the councils of 'departements ' , broadly the equivalent of counties . Polls suggest she could make it into the second-round run-off of a presidential election but is unlikely to win . While other FN officials have been stripped of their party membership for racism , there has been no move to bar Jean-Marie Le Pen from a party of which he still holds the title of honorary president . He is popular with many FN members and will stand as a candidate in December 's regional elections , despite having been convicted on numerous occasions of being anti-Jewish and for 'inciting racial hatred ' . Distanced herself from comments : Speaking to the website of Le Figaro daily , Marine Le Pen said : ' I deeply disagree with him ... He is being deliberately provocative ' He has regularly made the comment about the Holocaust , telling the European Parliament in 2009 : ' I just said that the gas chambers were a detail of Second World War history , which is clear . ' Mr Le Pen was first convicted by a Munich court in 1999 for 'minimising the Holocaust ' after telling a German far-right meeting that Nazi concentration camps and the gas chambers are 'what one calls a detail ' . He has had a string of other convictions , including ones for violence and was briefly banned from being an MEP in 2003 following a physical attack on a French Socialist MEP . Jews have complained of increasing anti-Semitism in France , much of it stirred up by far-right activists . The Nazi Holocaust extended to France between 1940 and 1944 , when thousands of Jews were entrained from cities like Paris to the German gas chambers .
Jean-Marie Le Pen reignites tensions after defending view of gas chambers . He claimed they were a 'detail of the war ' and should 'not shock anyone ' Marine Le Pen comments likely to revive allegations far right party is anti-Semitic . Daughter and current FN leader Le Pen 's said she 'deeply disagrees '