The racist incident sparked outrage in the French parliament, which suspended its session on Thursday afternoon after an MP from the far-right National Assembly intervened.
Parliamentarians from other groups demanded severe punishments for the deputy Grégoire de Fornas.
The incident began when black MP Carlos Martins Bilongo spoke on the podium about a ship full of refugees stranded in the Mediterranean when de Fornas yelled “Let him go back to Africa.”
There was an uproar in Parliament and several MPs chanted “Go away”, “Get out” and Martins Bilongo called it a disgrace after the session was over.
He said: “Today I was humiliated because of the color of my skin … I was born in France and am a French deputy.”
After the scandal, the far-right MP claimed a misunderstanding and said he was referring to the refugees on the boat and not his fellow MP, but has yet to offer any apology.
Politicians from other parties strongly condemned the incident.
“Racism has no place in our democracy,” said Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne, according to BFMTV.
“What a shame,” Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin tweeted.
Racism of a member of the National Assembly: du FN au RN, le nom change, mais les références hideuses et les habits ignobles resent. Quelle honte.
— Gerald Darmanin (@GDarmanin) November 3, 2022
Source: db a