French parliament suspended after 'they should go back to Africa' shouted as black MP spoke
France's parliament was suspended on Thursday after a far-right MP was accused of shouting "they should go back to Africa" while a black colleague spoke.
According to French media, Carlos Martens Bilongo, an MP from the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party, was asking the government about an NGO who had requested help in finding a port for hundreds of migrants rescued at sea.
Grégoire de Fournas, a member of France's far-right National Rally party interrupted Mr Bilongo, shouting: "They should go back to Africa!"
Footage captures Mr Bilongo pausing briefly, before his colleagues rise to their feet, erupting in fury.
France's Le Monde newspaper reported: "The outburst sparked yells of condemnation, not least because in French the pronouns 'he' and 'they' are pronounced the same, suggesting that Mr de Fournas might have been targeting Mr Bilongo directly."
Parliament speaker Yael Braun-Pivet suspended the session after demanding to know who had made the comment.
Mr de Fournas later tweeted that his remark was "about the boat and the migrants, obviously not my colleague". He added that all subsequent outrage was "shameful manipulation" on the part of the LFI.
In a statement, Mr Bilongo said he did not believe Mr de Fournas' reasoning. He said Mr de Fournas had directed a "racist" slur towards him, but was attempting to "justify the unjustifiable".
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Mr Bilongo added: "I did not expect to hear these words one day in the National Assembly. but racism always catches up with us even in the most prestigious places of the republic"
"And would it have been more acceptable for an MP to yell about critically ill SOS Méditerranée boat refugees returning to Africa? Has racism become so commonplace that this sentence has become acceptable?"
National Rally leader Marine Le Pen backed Mr de Fournas, tweeting: "Grégoire de Fournas obviously spoke of the migrants transported in boats by the NGOs mentioned by our colleague in his question to the government.
"The controversy created by our political adversaries is crude and will not deceive the French."
Ms Le Pen and the National Rally are known for their plans to sharply curtail immigration and dial back some rights for Muslims in France. Critics, including French president Emmanuel Macron, have labelled Ms Le Pen a dangerous nationalist.
The party, once known as the National Front, was founded by Ms Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was accused and convicted several times of xenophobia and antisemitism, both in France and abroad.
After Thursday's chaotic parliamentary session, France's interior minister Gérald Darmanin tweeted that, although the National Rally had changed its name, "the hideous references and despicable habits remain".
"What a disgrace," he added.