(Paris) “Let them go back to Africa” or “Let him go back to Africa”: the sentence deemed racist and launched Thursday by a far-right deputy while a black elected official questioned the French government on “immigration clandestine” in the Assembly, deeply moved and outraged the deputies.
Posted at 2:48 p.m.
The deputy of La France insoumise (LFI, radical left), Carlos Martens Bilongo, black and of Congolese origin, evoked in the hemicycle the “drama of illegal immigration”, when the deputy of the National Rally (RN, extreme right ), Grégoire de Fournas, launched this sentence.
After a few minutes of confusion, the President of the Assembly put an end to the session, while several interventions were still scheduled, “taking into account the seriousness of the facts” and the “legitimate emotion” of the Assembly. Such session interruptions are extremely rare.
The RN group claims that the deputy was talking about a “boat” of migrants mentioned in the question, and “in no case” of Mr. Martens Bilongo.
“We are faced with a manipulation of La France insoumise which seeks to distort my remarks to make me make disgusting remarks vis-à-vis a French deputy colleague of the Nation who has the same legitimacy as me on these benches “, defended Grégoire de Fournas in front of the press.
Carlos Martens Bilongo said he was “so sad”: “It’s shameful to be sent back to your skin color today”.
“Racism has no place in our democracy”, reacted Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, indicating that “naturally”, the office of the National Assembly “will have to take sanctions”.
The highest collegial body of the Assembly will meet Friday at 2:30 p.m. afternoon to decide on the follow-up.
“Today the far right has shown its true face,” said the president of the rebellious group in the Assembly Mathilde Panot. “We are going to ask for the strongest sanction, the expulsion for several months” of this deputy.