A French far-right lawmaker has been suspended from the country’s parliament for 15 days, the maximum penalty, after he made a racist remark during a legislative session, which prompted condemnation from across the political spectrum.
The words “back to Africa” were yelled at a fellow member by Gregoire de Fournas of the far-right National Rally party on Thursday when Carlos Martens Bilongo, a Black MP, pressed the French government on migrants stranded at sea.
The comment, according to Bilongo, “seriously hurt” him.
De Fournas’ comment aroused fresh concerns about xenophobia on the far right and in other sectors of French society, according to several politicians, including the president of France.
His remarks immediately caused a commotion in the National Assembly, which led the president to adjourn the meeting.
The management body of the National Assembly announced on Friday (local time) that its members had unanimously decided to impose the maximum sanction—a 15-day suspension—on de Fournas. De Fournas tweeted that the ruling is “extremely unfair” and that he is “innocent.”
It was difficult to tell if de Fournas suggested Bilongo should return to Africa or the migrants should due to acoustic problems.
De Fournas said that, rather than his fellow politician, he was speaking of rescued refugees headed for Europe.
He wrote on Twitter, “I totally stand by my views about the anarchy immigration policy of our country.
French anti-racism organisations emphasised that regardless of where Black individuals were born or held citizenship, the comment echoed the well-known vitriol of being urged to return to Africa.
The far-“real right’s face: that of racism,” according to the French organisation SOS Racisme.
“No matter what de Fournas actually said, the group’s president, Dominique Sopo, stated that “clearly, those are quite aggressive words.”
Bilongo, a representative of the extreme-left France Unbowed party, attended a rally on Friday near the National Assembly as a show of solidarity.
I’m divided between happiness and grief, said Bilongo. “Because I received a lot of messages of encouragement over the course of the night; because I can see everyone here standing in solidarity with me.
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Bilongo welcomed the instant outrage expressed by a significant majority of parliamentarians from across the party spectrum, saying he received thousands of notes after the incident from people saying they hear such comments every day.
De Fournas’ statement was deemed “revolting” by the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Among People.
Despite some attempts to mainstream this far-right party, “The National Rally remains extremely racist and xenophobic,” it declared.
The French President Emmanuel Macron was outraged by remarks he deemed “inappropriate in or outside” the parliament, according to the Elysee presidential palace.
Gerald Darmanin, the French interior minister, expressed his “great amazement” at hearing such “ignominious” comments said in parliament for the first time in his 15 years of political service, telling BFM TV.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally, lost her third run for the French presidency to Macron in April.
Nevertheless, the party made significant progress in France’s subsequent parliamentary election, winning 89 members in the 577-member National Assembly, up from eight.
De Fournas was “clearly speaking about the migrants conveyed in ships by NGOs,” Le Pen claimed in a tweet.
She declared, “The controversy stoked by our political rivals is disgusting and won’t fool the French.”
Le Pen has worked to dispel the reputation of racism and antisemitism that persisted in the party under her now-ostracized father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, for the past ten years in an effort to make her party more appealing to the mainstream right.
The National Rally’s members will assemble in Paris on Saturday (local time) to elect a new party leader. Le Pen has stated her intention to concentrate on directing the party’s representatives in the National Assembly.
A French legislator is suspended for 15 days after making a racist insult.
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