Despite the housekeeping attempt, the Internet does not forget. This Thursday, in the middle of the Hemicycle, while the Insoumis deputy Carlos Martens Bilongo asked a question about the future of the Ocean Viking – a ship carrying migrants and blocked in the Mediterranean for almost 15 days -, the elected RN of Gironde , Grégoire de Fournas, spoke briefly, the time to launch: “Let him return to Africa! “, as revealed by the official written transcript of the debates, published overnight.
VIDEO. “Let them return to Africa”: scandal in the Assembly after the words of an RN deputy
What, of course, to stir up controversy. Especially since, at first, it was the phrase “return to Africa” which had been heard, launched when Carlos Martens Bilongo – who is black – had the floor. The elected official in question assured that his “he” referred to the boat and not to his colleague. A defense in which many deputies do not believe and which is neither confirmed nor invalidated by the written transcript provided by the National Assembly, the second person singular being able to apply to the ship, as to the LFI deputy.
Since this exit, which many – including the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin – describe as “racist” and “inhumane” (whether it concerns migrants stuck at sea or Carlos Martens Bilongo), several problematic tweets published by the ‘elected RN’s were brought back to light. Some of them betray a racism that is not even hidden and make the direct link between black people and the African continent.
“He can go to Africa”
This is particularly the case of a post dating from 2019, which was deleted shortly after the start of the controversy. Grégoire de Fournas then responded to a black Internet user wishing to know if there was a form of “diversity” in a city where he had come to settle with his family, so as not to suffer racism. “If Herwan wants to be with blacks, he can go to Africa …”, reacted the RN deputy – who was then an adviser to the Gironde department.
Another post, quite similar and dated last March, has not been deleted. At the time, the elected official reacted to a tweet from the prefecture of New Aquitaine, which wished “Welcome” to Ukrainian refugees who had arrived in Bordeaux. It was accompanied by two photos, showing these families arriving by bus. Among the people in the image, several are black. “Ukrainians in Africa? “, wondered, in response, Grégoire de Fournas. A tweet that has not been deleted.
In 2014, he posted the keyword “#SoutienALeclere” to show his dissatisfaction after the conviction of the former Frontist municipal candidate Anne-Sophie Leclere, who had compared Christiane Taubira, then Minister of Justice, to a monkey.
In the same vein, in 2017, in reaction to the message of LR Julien Aubert (“Between identity regime and multiculturalist perversion, there is a 3rd way: the Republic which welcomes all those who love France.”), the RN replied: “In Africa, they all love France and its allowances. We welcome all of Africa? ! »
This Friday morning, the Minister of the Interior advocated the resignation of the elected RN. “I hope that the office of the National Assembly will take the strongest decision to sanction this deputy”, estimated Gérald Darmanin on BFMTV, indicating that Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, at the head of the party, were “accomplices of this ordinary racism”.