In the wake of its elimination from the Euro, after a sluggish match against Switzerland, the France team had received thousands of slanderous messages. On June 30, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into this wave of messages targeting certain players of the France team, according to information from 20 minutes.
This investigation was opened in particular to “Racist public insult”, two days after the defeat of France against Switzerland, said the prosecution. This procedure follows reports of hate tweets transmitted by the Pharos platform to the anti-hate online pole of the public prosecutor’s office, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The investigations, which should make it possible to identify the authors of the messages, were entrusted to the Central Office for the fight against crime linked to information and communication technologies (OCLCTIC).
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“Dirty nigger”
The new president of the single community of Martinique, Serge Letchimy, wrote on June 30 to the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, to condemn “Offensive, racist remarks against football player Kylian Mbappé”, in a letter unveiled by the public television channel Martinique 1re.
The chosen one referred in particular to a tweet, widely relayed and commented on the social network, which insulted the PSG striker, whose missed shot against Switzerland had precipitated the elimination of France. “This dirty negro deserves to take a hundred lashes and to be resold in Libya”, wrote the user.
“It is out of the question to let this type of hate speech pass, which must systematically call for the arrest of their authors, especially since French law, fortunately, condemns this type of hate speech on the web. “, continued the elected official in his letter.
Several associations file a complaint
At the same time, the SOS Racisme association lodged a complaint for these facts, with a view to becoming a civil party in the event of a lawsuit. The Representative Council of Black Associations in France (CRAN) has also announced its intention to file a complaint.
On Sunday, Paris-Saint-Germain supporters of the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) deployed a banner in front of the club’s stadium, the Parc des Princes, in support of the star striker, on which was written: “Racism, media lynching: support for KM”
The national anti-hate online pole of the Paris prosecutor’s office was created in January, in response in particular to the upsurge in cyberstalking and criticism relating to the lack of resources deployed by the authorities. He was notably in charge of the legal proceedings against people who threatened the young Mila after her diatribes against Islam, or a wave of anti-Semitic messages published on Twitter and Facebook during the last Miss France election.
Dembélé apologizes after racist video
Regarding a case of racism, the players of the France team Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann were ordered to explain themselves following the publication of a video on Friday in which the former mocks the physical and the language of hotel workers in Japan during a Barca tour in 2019.
In this video, Dembélé calls out to his Barça teammate Antoine Griezmann while technicians are busy around a TV in a hotel room. He is ironic about their physique and their language under the gaze of his partner, amused but silent.
ah yeah they are like that Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé? #StopAsianHate https://t.co/JJFBk6X0nZ
“As a partner of the club and host of the tour, I very much regret the discriminatory remarks made by FC Barcelona players”, tweeted Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten, FC Barcelona shirt sponsor. “Rakuten has been a club sponsor praising Barca’s philosophy, continues the founder of this Japanese e-commerce giant. Such remarks are not acceptable under any circumstances. I will officially protest to the club and ask them for an explanation. “
Dembélé has since apologized to “People in these images”, explaining that it was a “Private video” and that he “Did not target any community”. Antoine Griezmann, also targeted by these criticisms on social networks, “Firmly refutes the accusations” and assured Monday, in a tweet, to have “Always committed against any form of discrimination”.
