Hege Storhaug, HRS
Ordene til journalisten og kommentatoren Éric Zemmour, kunne like godt falt fra en journalist, menneskerettighetsaktivist eller politikere i Norge. Alle som har vandret på Plata i Oslo eller langs Akerselva i samme by ser med egne øyne hvem som pusher dop. Ja, endog en kvinne som nærmer seg 50 år (meg altså), og som jeg bestemt mener ikke ser særlig preget ut av dop, tilbys narko på gata av utlendinger, samtidig som jeg aldri har opplevd at norske langere har gjort det samme. Nå finnes det ingen statistikk over hvem narkolangeren i Norge er, ei heller i Frankrike. Vi vet heller ikke hvor mange nordmenn som pusher dop på en ”litt mer sivilisert” måte, altså mer i det skjulte. Så dersom man sier at det ikke er rart at sorte og arabere ”stoppes 17 ganger”, av den grunn at ”flest langere er sorte eller arabere”, kan man ta feil. Men skal man dømmes for å oppildne til hat for en slik bemerkning?
Ja, mener en domstol i Paris, melder Guardian
The controversial French journalist Éric Zemmour has been found guilty of incitement to racial hatred after telling a TV chatshow that drug dealers were mostly «blacks and Arabs».
The Paris trial sparked a fierce debate over freedom of speech and the extent of France’s racism problem, which is poisoning the republican ideal that all citizens are equal regardless of colour.
Zemmour, a well-known media commentator and columnist for Le Figaro, prides himself on his outspoken defiance of what he deems political correct, woolly liberals.
He appeared on a chatshow last year when the debate turned to the question of the French police’s excessive use of stop and search powers against minorities. He said: «But why are they stopped 17 times? Why? Because most dealers are blacks and Arabs. That’s a fact.»
I Frankrike finnes det ingen statistikk over kriminelles etniske bakgrunn. Det er forbudt – som i Norge (her kan man lage statistikk på nasjonal bakgrunn, dog).
According to the French model, where everyone is theoretically equal under a state blind to race or religion, it is illegal to count ethnic minorities or race statistics. So there are no figures on the ethnic identity of criminals.
Zemmour ble også dømt for et annet forhold. Han har uttalt at en arbeidsgiver “har rett” til ikke å ansette svarte eller arabere. I hvilken kontekst disse ordene falt fremkommer ikke, og uttalelsen lyder mer diskutabel i mine ærer. Jeg trodde det var kvalifikasjoner som gjaldt. Interessant nok er Zemmour selv berbisk jøde fra Algerie.
Zemmor was also fined for telling another TV channel that employers «had a right» to turn down black or Arab candidates. Job discrimination over race and ethnicity is thought to be widespread in France.
Zemmour, whose parents were Jewish Berbers who emigrated from Algeria in the 1950s, told the court he was not a «provocateur» but a faithful observer of reality who refused political correctness. He was backed by several centre-right politicians and some on the left.
The state prosecutor accused him of using the «old stereotype that linked immigration to crime».
Debatten om innvandring, integrering og islam har økt i styrke i Frankrike, og Sarkozy har varslet at han vil utrede islams rolle i samfunnet, som vanskelig kan tolkes annerledes enn at han er bekymret for islams makt i det offentlige (og private?) rommet, og han er bekymret for Nasjonal Front velgerpotensial under nytt lederskap.
The Zemmour case has reflected an increasingly uneasy debate over immigration in France as Nicolas Sarkozy tries to win over the far-right vote before his difficult re-election battle next year.
The Front National, led by its new, young, female face, Marine Le Pen, is scoring its highest ever ratings in the polls after exploiting mistrust of Islam by criticising Muslim street prayers and halal-only restaurants.
After what was attacked as a disastrous national debate on «immigration and national identity», Sarkozy is now seeking to outmanoeuvre the extreme right by launching a nationwide consultation on the role of Islam in the French secular state.
The debate, to be run by his ruling UMP party, will begin in April and will seek to impose rules on how Islam should work in France, which has the biggest Muslim population in western Europe. Sarkozy told party members it was crucial because «yesterday’s racists are today’s populists».