Find here all of our live #POLITICS
1:36 p.m. : At the rally in support of @BilongoCarlos in the face of racism expressed in the middle of the National Assembly: “Through me, millions of French people have been insulted.” Racism has no place in the Republic! https://t.co/AMPpyCGv2L
1:36 p.m. : At the rally in support of @BilongoCarlos after the racist insult of an elected member of the RN, a far-right party, at the National Assembly.#JeSoutiensCarlos https://t.co/mnia4LN3QC
1:36 p.m. : Present at the rally in support of @BilongoCarlos. The Republic is not a neutral regime: it affirms the unity of the Nation against all forms of discrimination. Racism has no place anywhere, neither in the Assembly nor elsewhere. #ISupportCarlos https://t.co/SgtAgnnSTt
1:32 p.m. : “A threshold has been crossed (…) We say it, no offense to fascists and racists, yes we are proud to have Carlos Martens Bilongo in our group.”
The rally in support of black LFI MP Carlos Martens Bilongo continues near the National Assembly.
1:24 p.m. : “The sentence must be proportional to the action. And the proportion is outside! Outside! (…) They are what they have always been, racists! Fascists!”
Jean-Luc Melenchon “plead the most severe penalty” against the deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas, after his racist remarks made during an intervention on migrants in the Mediterranean.
1:25 p.m. : “I am torn between joy and sadness, because I have received a lot of messages of support. I am torn between joy and sadness, to see all these solidarity faces here with me.”
A rally in support of black LFI deputy Carlos Martens Bilongo is currently being organized near the National Assembly. “You have come to support all these people who continually feel targeted by racist insults. (…) Millions of French people were attacked yesterday.”
12:55 p.m. : Hello. It doesn’t matter if the basic thought is singular or plural, the stupidity is the same. Racism at the RN is part of its DNA. No consideration of the suffering of migrants…
12:55 p.m. : Hello FI. I don’t understand why people are trying to find out what was said. Whether addressed to a person or a boat, the words are there and inadmissible from a representative of the Republic. Let the penalty fall. The National Assembly is not a “roundabout”. Have a good day
12:54 p.m. : Singular or plural! In both cases, the remark is racist
12:54 p.m. : Whether it’s to target the boat or the MP, it’s still not very smart…
12:54 p.m. : Hello. As Sophia Aram puts it so well: “The debate on “that he return to Africa” or “that they return to Africa” is to know if it is racist or if it is racist?
12:54 p.m. : That the deputy speaks of his colleague or of the migrants on the boat does not alter the ignominy of the remarks and the racism expressed.
12:54 p.m. : Many of you comment on the words of the deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas in the Assembly. For a majority of our readers, it does not matter whether the remarks were intended for black LFI deputy Carlos Martens Bilongo or to migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, because in both cases it is racist remarks.
12:29 : Hello @Guy. This is precisely what we do. “Let them return to Africa” : franceinfo has chosen to keep the parentheses to report the comments made by the deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas, in the National Assembly, whether in our titles, in our articles or in our live. Indeed, this sentence, expressed orally, could just as well have been pronounced in the singular (“Let him return to Africa”) or in the plural (“Let them return to Africa”).
The official minutes of the session transcribe it in the singular. Accused of having targeted Carlos Martens Bilongo, a black LFI deputy who was speaking at the podium on the fate of hundreds of migrants stranded at sea, Grégoire de Fournas assured that his “answer concerned the boat and the migrants”, and not his colleague. In a previous version, he explained that he had said “Let him return to Africa”, in reference to the “SOS Mediterranean boat”.
12:28 : Hello FI, Frankly I am not FN nor RN but it would be necessary to say if the deputy RN spoke about the boat or not. I think so and to accuse him of the contrary is bad faith which does not make journalism or the Assembly grow.
12:16 p.m. : Good evening . This is indeed the question that everyone has been asking since yesterday. The short sentence, barely audible to viewers, stunned the National Assembly. The official report of the session published on the site of the National Assembly is formal. “Let them return to Africa”launched the deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas, interrupting a question from the black LFI elected official Carlos Martens Bilongo on the fate of hundreds of migrants stranded at sea. I suggest that you immerse yourself in this article to be completely complete.
12:14 p.m. : Good evening, Do we know what the exact words of the RN deputy are: “that they return to Africa” or “return to Africa”?
12:04 : It’s time for the traditional update on mid-day news.
• What was really said during the exchanges in the Assembly involving the deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas? Franceinfo returns to these racist remarks which caused a suspension of the session in the National Assembly. Follow our live.
• After his racist remarks in the National Assembly, the deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas risks up to “censorship with temporary exclusion” of the Hemicycle. The Assembly’s rules of procedure recall that there are four disciplinary penalties applicable to its members: call to order, call to order with entry in the minutes, censure and censure with temporary exclusion.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that China will use its influence with Russia to bring an end to its “war of aggression” against Ukraine. Follow our live.
Eric Ciotti, Aurélien Pradié and Bruno Retailleau are officially nominated candidates for the post of president of the Republicans.
12:07 : “The way of saying it lacked humanity and was not appropriate.”
he vice-president of the National Rally, David Rachline, regrets to franceinfo the “lack of humanity” of deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas, accused of having made racist remarks Thursday in the National Assembly. He assures that “to say that human trafficking must be stopped is a truth”but the vice-president of the RN also believes that the words of the elected Girondin “have been scandalously diverted”.
11:31 a.m. : The racist remarks of Grégoire de Fournas made in the National Assembly could have an impact on the motions of censure tabled by LFI. “We will see, Mr. Mélenchon, if he continues to accept the votes of the National Front without any problem, as we can see through a certain number of votes for amendments or with motions of censure”asked the Minister of Relations with Parliament, Franck Riester, on Europe 1. “We will see if he has fewer (sic) scruples in accepting the votes of the National Rally”he added.
10:55 : The High Authority of Republicans has published the list of candidates selected for the race for the presidency of the LR party. After having collected the required sponsorships from members and LR parliamentarians, the deputies Eric Ciotti and Aurélien Pradié and the senator Bruno Retailleau saw their file approved by this internal body, responsible for organizing the ballot.
10:52 : Eric Ciotti, Aurélien Pradié and Bruno Retailleau are the three candidates for the post of president of the Republicans.
10:38 : On franceinfo, the Minister of Solidarity Jean-Christophe Combe assured that France was ready to welcome the 234 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea by the ship Ocean Viking. It is, according to him, a “question of humanity”. “A port in Europe or in France must be able to accommodate them, so that we can treat them”he added. “We are not going to let them die in the middle of the Mediterranean, we are not going to let them drift”laments the Minister of Solidarity.
09:52 : ? Racist remarks to the National Assembly ➡️ “These are unbearable remarks, pure racism”, reacts the Minister of Solidarity. “I hope that the sanctions which will be taken will be extremely firm and that it can go as far as a expulsion.” https://t.co/lhw8MjpQBz
09:52 : On franceinfo, Jean-Christophe Combe, the Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and People with Disabilities, strongly condemned the words of Grégoire de Fournas. “These are unbearable words, pure racism, these words must be condemned with the greatest firmness”did he declare. “I expect the National Assembly to take extremely firm sanctions”added the Minister.
09:31 : “There is no doubt.”
According to Carlos Martens Bilongo, LFI deputy, interviewed on BFMTV, the words of Grégoire de Fournas were intended for him.
09:29 : On BFMTV, the deputy LFI Carlos Martens Bilongo declares that he heard “return to Africa” in the hemicycle. About the soundtrack recorded at the National Assembly during the incident, “we will try to have a professional extraction” to confirm that what he heard is what was said.
09:23 : “The truth is that this manipulation suits LFI, which has been in a vacuum since the Quatennens affair.”
For his defense on CNews, Grégoire de Fournas assures that his remarks were made in a certain context. “The LFI MP talks about the SOS Méditerranée boat which is unable to dock on European shoresdetails Grégoire de Fournas, he says that it poses a difficulty and that bad weather will happen. So I answer what has always been the position of the National Rally, ‘let this boat go back to Africa’.”
09:12 : Guest on CNews, Grégoire de Fournas returned to the controversy which agitates the National Assembly. “I did not understand what happened at the time”he assured in reaction to the bronca which rose in the hemicycle. “I said a sentence which had a precise meaning and which was hijacked by La France insoumise”he added. “The LFI deputy understood what I meant, he then understood that he had something to play for”he continued.
09:07 : It’s time to take stock of the news.
• The RN deputy Grégoire de Fournas wrote to Carlos Martens Bilongo after his racist arrest in the Hemicycle, ensuring that his remarks were addressed to the migrant boat of which the LFI deputy spoke, and not to the speaker himself. The office of the National Assembly is meeting this afternoon to discuss a possible sanction.
• After his racist remarks in the National Assembly, the deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas risks up to “censorship with temporary exclusion” of the Hemicycle. The Assembly’s rules of procedure recall that there are four disciplinary penalties applicable to its members: call to order, call to order with entry in the minutes, censure and censure with temporary exclusion.
EDF has again revised downwards its nuclear electricity production forecasts for 2022, suggesting additional difficulties for the end of the year. A setback justified by the extension of the shutdown of four reactors affected by a corrosion problem.
• Nearly 4.5 million people in Ukraine were without electricity overnight due to Russian strikes against the country’s infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced a “energy terror”. Here’s what to remember from the day.
Faced with global warming, “let’s not mistake the culprit”. In a column published on franceinfo.fr, more than 800 scientists, including climatologist Jean Jouzel and economist Thomas Piketty, defend the scientists arrested this week in Germany for an action of civil disobedience against BMW.