The French parliament has suspended its sitting following a claim that a Far-right member of parliament, Gregoire de Fournas shouted “go back to Africa” as a black legislator posed a question about migrants.
Carlos Martens Bilongo of the leftist France Unbowed party (LFI) was posing a question to the government concerning the SOS Mediterranee NGO’s plea for assistance in locating a port for the 234 migrants who had recently been rescued at sea.
All the while, Gregoire de Fournas,the newly elected member of Ms Le Pen’s nationalist, anti-immigration National Rally, interjected by saying “go back to Africa!”.
Carlos Bilongo responded to the racist remark saying “pas du tout”- “no way”
The House burst into a wrath after the interjected was made. Yaël Braun-Pivet, the Speaker of the National Assembly , abruptly stopped the precedings and demanded to know who had made that statement which came as Carlos Martens Bilongo, of the far-left, La France Insoumise (LFI), was questioning the government.
Following the fact that the French pronouns for “He” and “They” are both pronounced the same way, the phrase sparked an angry outburst among the parliamentarians as it was unclear whether the statement was being made to the MP or the migrants. The official stated which was recorded from Gregoire de Fournas’ microphone was perceived as “Qu’il retourne en Afrique” – “he should go back to Africa” with which the plural resounds as “Qu’ils retournent en Afrique”, confirming the sameness in sounds.
The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne immediately condemned the statement saying: “Racism has no place in our democracy” after De Fournas’ outburst.
Carlos Bilongo took the statement to heart calling the comment “shameful” and continued on to say “Today, I was sent back to my skin colour. I was born in France. I am a French deputy”.
Before determining whether punishment was necessary, the speaker of parliament stated the investigation would center on whether De Fournas used the pronoun “he” or “they” to determine whether the remark was intended for Bilongo or the migrants.
Nonetheless, the interior minister Gérald Darmanin has called for the resignation of De Fournas. He said on a news channel, “I am extremely shocked by what happened in the Assemblée Nationale. I’ve been in the house for 15 years in one way or another and it’s the first time I’ve heard anything so disgraceful”
Afterwards, De Fournas gave an apology to Bilongo for “any misunderstanding”, saying he was referring to migrants arriving in France from Africa. He rejected calls to resign.
Author- Roberta Appiah
