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' Le Pen's comments likely to revive allegations far right party is anti-Semitic . Daughter and current FN leader Marine Le Pen said she 'deeply disagrees'