France opens probe over lawmaker's Hitler remark on Roma

French investigators said today they had opened a criminal probe into a lawmaker who was allegedly recorded saying that Hitler "did not kill enough" Roma.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls had earlier called for Gilles Bourdouleix, a controversial lawmaker and mayor of the western town of Cholet, to be "severely punished" for the comments.
Bourdouleix reportedly muttered the remark on Sunday as he confronted members of the travelling community, also known as gypsies, who had illegally set up camp, according to a recording posted on the site of regional daily Courrier de l'Ouest.
"Maybe Hitler did not kill enough," Bourdouleix is heard saying after the Roma had reportedly given him the Nazi salute.

Bourdouleix, who is a member of the lower house National Assembly with the centrist UDI party, is also facing expulsion from his party.
Local prosecutor Yves Gambert said his office had opened a preliminary investigation into the remarks yesterday, on charges of "defending crimes against humanity".

"I believed that this justified the opening of an investigation," he said.
Bourdouleix faces up to five years in prison and a USD 60,000 fine if convicted on the charge.
Prosecutors have also ordered that the recording of the remark be analysed to see if it was altered.
Bourdouleix has said his comments were taken out of context and alleged the recording was tampered with.

The comments sparked an uproar, with Valls describing them as "unacceptable".
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Bourdouleix's comments were "not worthy of an elected representative" and were "punishable by law".