News

France probes racist backlash against Nakamura over Olympics

By AFP

March 15, 2024 09:10 PM


Twitter Share Facebook Share WhatsApp Share

French investigators have opened an inquiry over alleged racism against French-Malian pop superstar Aya Nakamura following reports she might perform at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, prosecutors said Friday.

The probe follows the filing of a complaint by the France-based International League against Racism and Antisemitism (LICRA) on Wednesday, they said.

The 28-year-old superstar is known worldwide for hits like "Djadja", which has close to a billion streams on YouTube alone.

The alleged racist abuse began after media reports said the singer had discussed the possibility of performing a song by 20th-century icon Edith Piaf at a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron last month, though neither party has confirmed it.

At a campaign rally on Sunday for the Reconquest party, led by far-right former presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, Nakamura's name drew boos from the crowd.

A small extremist group, the Natives, hung a banner by the River Seine that read: "There's no way Aya. This is Paris, not the Bamako market."

SOS Racism, another group battling discrimination, said on X that it had also filed an official complaint over "acts of incitement to discrimination and racist cyberbullying" against the artist.

It said she had been "the victim of waves of racist hate driven by the far right".

The Olympics organising committee told AFP on Monday that it had been "very shocked" by the backlash against the singer, and Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera also expressed her support on X.

Nakamura said Tuesday that said she was grateful.

"Thanks for the support, especially to my community," she posted on X. "I feel like I made you discover Edith Piaf and she has been reincarnated in me."


AFP


Most Read

  1. Mexican claims victory by paying $28 for $28,000 Cartier earrings Mexican claims victory by paying $28 for $28,000 Cartier earrings
  2. Gunmen storm Lucky Cement factory, kill security guard Gunmen storm Lucky Cement factory, kill security guard
  3. Two Railway Police personnel killed in Mardan Two Railway Police personnel killed in Mardan
  4. When Pakistani pilot shot down Israeli fighter plane When Pakistani pilot shot down Israeli fighter plane
  5. Relationships are tough; Mrunal Thakkur plans to freeze her eggs Relationships are tough; Mrunal Thakkur plans to freeze her eggs
  6. Arbaaz Khan hands ‘winning’ response to ex-wife Malaika Arora for labelling him Indecisive Arbaaz Khan hands ‘winning’ response to ex-wife Malaika Arora for labelling him Indecisive

Opinion

  1. PML-N smashed PTI in by-polls
    PML-N smashed PTI in by-polls

    By News Desk

  2. Riding the Digital Wave: How Technology is Rewriting the Script of Economic Prosperity
    Riding the Digital Wave: How Technology is Rewriting the Script of Economic Prosperity

    By News Desk

  3. Tax on solar energy: Govt's misplaced priorities favour powerful stakeholders over people welfare  
    Tax on solar energy: Govt's misplaced priorities favour powerful stakeholders over people welfare  

    By Manzoor Qadir

  4. Legacy of Indian military subjugation in Kashmir
    Legacy of Indian military subjugation in Kashmir

    By Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai

  5. Islamabad becoming the hub of international diplomacy
    Islamabad becoming the hub of international diplomacy

    By Salim Bokhari

  6. Insights into the Pakistan Stock Exchange's Recent Record High Triumph
    Insights into the Pakistan Stock Exchange's Recent Record High Triumph

    By Zulfiqar Ali Mir