, who was heard shouting out 'go back to Africa!' The comment caused huge commotion and it was unclear who it was targeted at as the pronouns 'he' and 'they' are pronounced the same in French. The centrist government and left-wing alliance called it an unacceptable racial slur. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told reporters after the incident: 'There is no room for racism in our democracy. 'The Bureau of the National Assembly will convene (on Friday) and should decide on necessary sanction.' Bilongo called the comment 'shameful', saying: 'Today, I was sent back to my skin colour. I was born in France. I am a French deputy.' He pointed out that even if the words were aimed at the migrants rather than him personally, they would still have been 'unjustifiable', adding: 'Has racism become so commonplace that this sentence has become acceptable?' 'This episode reminds us of what the far-right is in France: the contempt for institutions and the detestation of millions of our French compatriots.' Stephane Sejourne, who leads President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, said de Fournas should resign, and the left-wing Nupes alliance said that he should be expelled. 'The National Rally has shown its true face today,' the Nupes left-wing alliance said in a statement. 'This racist slur is characteristic of the far-right: stigmatise according to the colour of your skin, divide the French people.' However, the far right insisted de){kind=link}
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The French parliament was halted on Thursday after a far-right MP shouted ‘go back to Africa’ at a Black politician during a debate about migration.
Carlos Martens Bilongo, of the leftist France Unbowed party, was challenging the government over a maritime rescue boat carrying hundreds of passengers in the Mediterranean with no assigned port to bring them to.
He was interrupted by Gregoire de Fournas, of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party (RN), who was heard shouting out ‘go back to Africa!’