Far-right mayor says ‘being French’ is ‘being white and catholic’

Mayor of Béziers could face legal action over controversial comments.

Robert Ménard, the far-right mayor of Béziers | Sylvain Thomas/AFP via Getty Images

Two anti-racism organizations on Monday said they would take legal action over comments by Robert Ménard, the far-right mayor of Béziers in the south of France.

Ménard said in an interview with French news channel LCI that being French also meant “in the words of Charles De Gaulle, being European, white and catholic.”

According to Ménard, 91 percent of children in certain schools are Muslim. “Naturally, that is a problem,” he said, adding that there are “thresholds in tolerance.”

He suggested that people would take their children to different schools if there were too many Muslims in class.

Alain Jakubowicz, the president of Licra, the international league against racism and antisemitism, said the comments “beat the record of shame and stupidity.”

The mayor made similar comments on Twitter, saying that “the French are predominantly white and Catholic. Without excluding anyone, I hope that this will always be the case in the future.”

Tags: