A French magazine’s drawing of Black lawmaker Danielle Obono as a salve with chains around her neck has triggered an uproar, forcing the anti-racism campaigners to take legal action to curb the rising hate speech in the country.
In her Twitter wall, the politician blasted the Valeur Actuelles publication’s offensive act as “racist s***” and termed France’s extreme right as “odious, stupid and cruel”.
Speaking to BFM broadcaster, the lawmaker said: “I hurt for my republic, I hurt for my France”. Obono called the depiction as a political attack on her and others who fight against “the racism, stigmatization that millions of our compatriots are subjected to”.
France Prime Minister Jean Castex wrote on Twitter saying the drawing deserves “unambiguous condemnation”.
According to the reports from the President’s office, President Emmanuel Macron called Obono and “expressed his clear condemnation of any form of racism”, according to his office.
The head of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand said:Â “At her side in the fight against racism and for the respect due to all elected representatives of the republic.”
On his part, on the issue, Justice Minister Dupond-Moretti said, “One is free to write a putrid novel within the limits fixed by the law. One is free to hate it. I hate it.”
While junior Minister for quality and the only Black member of the French government, Elisabeth Moreno said, “I don’t share Danielle Obono’s ideas, but today I offer her all my support.”
Such condemnations came from various politicians across the political divide including an officer fro France’s far-right National Rally party, Wallerand de Saint-Just who noted that the story by the magazine was ” absolute bad taste”.
At the same time, the country’s anti-racism body, SOS Racisme deplored the rising hate speech against Black politicians and those of Arab descent and said it working on legal measures to tackle the issue.
The magazine, Valeurs Actuelles defended its action saying the illustration was featured as part of an annual summer fiction series in which characters from politics, media, or art travel through time.
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From the illustration, the politician, Obono travels to the 18th century and according to the publication, she experiences “the horrors of slavery as organized by Africans in the 18th century”.
The magazine rejected claims of having racist intentions but noted in a statement that it understood how Obono was “personally hurt”.
“We regret it and apologize to her,” the publication said.
