Thursday’s session of the French parliament was tumultuous after a far-right MP said “they must go back to Africa” when another black MP questioned the government about illegal immigrants trying to reach Europe. The comment led to the interruption of work.
Carlos Martens Bilongo, deputy of France Insubmissa (LFI), a left-wing party, questioned the government about the NGO SOS Mediterráneo’s request to Paris to help 234 migrants rescued at sea in recent days find a port. “They have to go back to Africa,” interrupted Gregoire de Fournas, a newly elected deputy from far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Regrouping (RN).
The incident came at a time when President Emmanuel Macron’s government has been criticized for its immigration policy and accused of deporting those whose residency applications are rejected.
“Qu’il(s) returns(nt) en Afrique”
l’Assemblée with fin à la séance des Questions au Gouvernement après une racist interpellation pic.twitter.com/CZj4slhXu7
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) Nov 3, 2022
The comment, which is considered racist, sparked uprising and outrage, with cries of condemnation, with some deputies demanding the far-right deputy’s departure from parliament.
National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet adjourned the session after asking who made the remark in an extremely rare speech in the French parliament.
De Fournas later justified the remark by telling BFM TV that his party wants to end all illegal immigration after an increase in the number of people trying to reach France from Africa in recent years.
The far-right deputy accused Insubmissive France representatives of “manipulation” and his party, RN, also denied any personal attack on Bilongo, a Paris-born teacher of Congolese descent.
De Fournas later apologized to Bilongo for the “misunderstanding that the comments caused”.
Jordan Bardella, favorite to take Le Pen’s place at the RN congress this weekend, insisted that delegate De Fournas referred to the return of boats to African ports and accused the LFI and the government of “extreme dishonesty”.
“Grégoire de Fournas spoke clearly about the migrants transported by the NGOs on boats,” Marine Le Pen underlined in a message on Twitter.
Grégoire de Fournas an évidemment parlé des migrant transportés en bateaux par les NGOs que évoquait nore collègue dans sa question au gouvernement.
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_official) Nov 3, 2022
LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon wrote on Twitter that the comments went beyond “unacceptable” and that the deputy should be expelled from the National Assembly.
A parliamentary committee will meet on Friday to discuss the incident, which could lead to De Fournas being punished with a temporary ban from the National Assembly.
President Macron’s party will refuse to participate in other parliamentary sessions unless a “severe punishment” is imposed on the deputy who pronounced the sentence, the party’s vice president in parliament Sylvain Maillard said on Twitter.
A member of Macron’s entourage said the president was “hurt” by the “unbearable” remarks, while Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called on parliament to sanction the far-right deputy, adding: “Racism has no place in our democracy.” “.
Source: DN
