“I personally think that there is something hidden and not to see it is to be naive,” he declared during a meeting at the French embassy in Abu Dhabi.
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Gérald Darmanin persists and signs. Traveling to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Wednesday October 25, the Minister of the Interior returned to his controversial comments about footballer Karim Benzema. “One might wonder what a footballer is doing by tweeting a political opinion and that, when he does it, he does it selectively”he declared during a meeting with members of the French community, at the residence of the French ambassador in Abu Dhabi. I personally think that it hides something and not to see it is to be naive”.
“One might wonder why the Minister of the Interior reacted to a footballer’s tweethe added again. But when it affects 20 million people, I think it’s my role to denounce it.”
The minister’s comments sparked an outcry on the left
On October 16 on Cnews, Gérald Darmanin accused Karim Benzema of having a “notorious link” with the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamist organization born in Egypt. The minister criticized the former Real Madrid star, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, for posting a message on the social network “all [ses] prayers for the inhabitants of Gaza, victims once again of these unjust bombings which spare neither women nor children”without expressing compassion towards the Israeli victims of Hamas.
Gérald Darmanin’s comments triggered an outcry, with the left accusing him in particular of exploiting the unloved French football. The footballer’s lawyer announced his intention to file a complaint.