hollywoodtone.blogspot.com France wants to ban 'anti-Semitic' comedian
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com France wants to ban 'anti-Semitic' comedian
Paris - French Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls said Friday in an interview with French newspaper Le Parisien that he would seek to ban performances by Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, a controversial comedian.
Valls’ move comes after mounting pressure from France’s Jewish community to crack down on what it sees as increasingly pervasive anti-Semitism in the country. France is home to Europe's largest Jewish minority, with some 600,000 currently estimated to reside in the country. Last year, a French Islamist killed a rabbi and three pupils at a Jewish school in the southwestern city of Toulouse in the worst anti-Semitic incident in recent history. The highly regarded Minister reported that his team was considering various measures at his disposal, saying it could, “take some time,” but that it was imperative to, “put an end to the impunity and the complacency from which Dieudonné has benefited.” “Dieudonné has been convicted several times for defamation, insults and hate speech… That’s enough. It’s necessary to halt this hate machine,” said Valls. The popular comedian and political activist has been convicted six times over the past decade for almost $50,000 in fines. Most recently, a journalist recorded him with a hidden camera during a performance at his theater in the 11th arrondissement of Paris making anti-Semitic remarks about French journalist Patrick Cohen. Despite the controversy that has shrouded his career, performances at his Paris theater are booked solid for months to come. Dieudonné has amassed a faithful following of supporters who vocally reject that the controversial figure is anti-Semitic. In 2009, Dieudonné ran for elections for the European Parliament, creating the Anti-Zionist party. The Minister ended the interview by calling for a greater collective awareness of the reality of the comedian’s remarks. “Today, spectators can no longer say that they didn’t know,” thinks Valls.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com France wants to ban 'anti-Semitic' comedian