“Whatever the cost, we do not collaborate with hatred,” warns Lilian Thuram

Lilian Thuram, former footballer of the French team, very committed to the fight against racism, says he is surprised “let us become aware” only today of an uninhibited speech on racism and anti-Semitism during the legislative campaign, because “We have been saying that there is racism for a very, very long time” in France. He notes that indeed “from the moment the National Front has the impression of having power, it unleashes violence.”

For the former footballer, “You just have to look at the news. You will see that, in fact, people who have this violence in them express it freely today, and it is extremely dangerous. So imagine tomorrow when they are in power! I think we have to take things very, very seriously. And I think that unfortunately, for years, we have denied the racism of the National Front. The National Front is a party where there is an extremely deep anti-Muslim hatred and we know that.”.

Lilian Thuram denounces “the role of certain media in normalizing racist discourse” And “the role also of certain politicians who legitimize the discourse of the National Front”as responsible for this liberation of racist speech. He therefore calls for “resist this violence” and not to “collaborate”. “So we really need to ask citizens to vote against the National Front, against the extreme right”adds the founder of the Lilian Thuram-Education Against Racism foundation.

“We must not be indifferent. I am not Muslim, but I can openly say that there is very powerful anti-Muslim racism on the part of the National Front. I am not homosexual, it is exactly the same thing, that is to say that there are extremely homophobic speeches and I think that today, unfortunately, we are in a society where sometimes we are indifferent to others”he adds, “I have always told my children that we do not collaborate with hatred. Whatever the cost, we do not collaborate with hatred.”