14.05.2014 Racist statements of Eric Zemmour have consequences

Several French newspapers report the verbal attacks of journalist Eric Zemmour against criminal gangs of Rroma, Chechens, Maghrebians and Africans. He accuses the members of these groups to plunder, to steal, and to rape in France. Zemmour further argued that multi-ethnic societies have a higher potential for violence than ethnically homogeneous communities such as Japan, which he sees as better protected against mass immigration due to natural borders. The council of associations of the French Black (Le Cran) condemned Zemmour’s remarks as racist mania, calling for his immediate dismissal: “Le Cran is totally baffled by the violence of this xenophobic madness”, stated the association, which added “if you listen to Éric Zemmour, you get the impression that the current France is immersed in a kind of medieval nightmare, destroyed by alien hordes that are inevitably thieves and criminals.” “I urge RTL to consider the severity of Zemmour’s statements”, who “indirectly calls for a policy of ethnic cleaning”, the president of Le Cran, Louis-Georges Tin, announced.” Le Cran has also filed a complaint against Zemmour at the audiovisual council of France (compare Nabet 2014, Le Nouvel Observateur 2014, Le Point 2014). Metro News (2014) points out that Zemmour has repeatedly attracted attention due to radical views. In a television program, he asked for face controls by the police and urged the abolition of abortions in favour of political and economic empowerment of France. In another program, he favoured discrimination as an ability to choose and therefore as a liberal tool.