French Parliament Suspended After Supposed Racial Outburst

Paris: On Thursday, the lower house of France’s parliament was adjourned after a far-right MP yelled, “Go back to Africa!” in response to a question about immigration from a Black lawmaker on the far left. The remark caused a major uproar. It was immediately deemed an unacceptable racist term by the left-wing alliance and the centrist administration. The French right contended that MP Gregoire de Fournas was speaking to refugees stuck on an NGO boat rather than Carlos Martens Bilongo, the MP who posed the question.

“In our democratic society, racism has no place. The National Assembly’s Bureau will meet (this Friday) to determine the appropriate sanctions “Following the incident, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said to local French media.

The National Rally (RN) member Mr. De Fournas and his party claimed that he didn’t say anything improper. He “obviously spoke about the migrants transported in boats by the NGOs,” Ms Le Pen tweeted. The French will not be fooled by the scandal that our political opponents have stoked.

Mr. Bilongo had a radically different perspective and called the remark “shameful.” He said, “Today, I was sent back to my skin colour. I was born in France. I am a French deputy”.

The left-wing Nupes alliance and the leader of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, Stephane Sejourne, both called for the expulsion of Mr. de Fournas.

With 89 lawmakers, the RN is the second-biggest party in the parliament. A close ally of Ms Le Pen, Jordan Bardella, is expected to take over as the party leader on Saturday.

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