The Miss France contest which was held on Saturday was tarnished by a rain of anti-Semitic tweets against one of its candidates.
Miss Provence, Amandine Petit's first runner-up, has been targeted by Internet users because of her origins.
April Benayoum publicly referred to her Israeli origins during the evening.
Anti-Semitic insults then took her as targets, assuring her a defeat, regretting that she was alive, denying the existence of her country of origin, insulting her supporters, etc.
Among the first political figures to react, Aurore Bergé, vice-president of the LREM group at the Assembly, expressed her indignation.
She qualified as “unbearable” the content of the remarks, screenshots in support.
Anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist hatred is spreading against Miss Provence.
Insupportable.
# MissFrance2021 #MissFrance pic.twitter.com/LYyZuEl9OE
- Aurore Bergé (@auroreberge) December 19, 2020
Among the elected representatives of the South-East of France, Renaud Muselier, LR president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, speaks of “abomination” and highlights the fact that Miss Provence is “French, of origin. Italian and Israeli, Provencal, from the South!
It perfectly represents our region and our country ”.
The anti-Semitic hatred against @AprilBenayoum, our Miss #Provence, is an abomination!
She is French, of Italian and Israeli origin, Provencal, from the South!
She perfectly represents our region and our country - total support for our 1st runner-up of # MissFrance2021! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/JdzMXNxH9R
- Renaud Muselier (@RenaudMuselier) December 20, 2020
Eric Ciotti, LR deputy for Alpes-Maritimes, relied in particular on messages referring to Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany (1933-1945) who carried out a policy of extermination of the Jewish population, to denounce comments made online.
“The fight against anti-Semitism is not over, let us seek and fight with force those who utter hatred!
"
#MissProvence target of anti-Semitic insults and threats on social networks, unacceptable!
The fight against anti-Semitism is not over, let us seek and fight with force those who utter hatred!
pic.twitter.com/wfHai9Ddjn
- Eric Ciotti (@ECiotti) December 20, 2020
Christian Estrosi, but LR from Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), also provided “support” in the face of “ignoble” remarks.
Anti-Semitic hatred continues to rage freely on social media, this time against April Benayoum, # MissProvence2020, due to her Israeli background.
It is despicable.
All my support for April, magnificent 1st runner-up last night.
# MissFrance2021 pic.twitter.com/80h2O4wQx2
- Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) December 20, 2020
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On the left of the political spectrum, the socialist president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga, addresses her “support” to April Benayoum.
More broadly, she thinks that "more means must be deployed to fight hatred online and to prosecute".
I address my support to #AprilBenayoun, Miss Provence and runner-up of #MissFrance, victim of anti-Semitic comments on social networks, in particular on @TwitterFrance.
More means must be deployed to combat online hatred and to prosecute.
- Carole Delga (@CaroleDelga) December 20, 2020
This is not the first time that Miss France has faced such behavior.
Last year, Clémence Botino, who had just been elected Miss France 2020, was also the victim of racist insults.
In the case of April Benayoum, the Licra announces its intention to file a complaint.
The International League Against Racism and Antisemitism vigorously denounces the words targeting the first runner-up of Miss France 2021, implicating those who have "turned Twitter into an antisemitic cesspool against #MissProvence".
She gives "an appointment in court" to these people.
Go to court for the tweeters who last night turned Twitter into an anti-Semitic cesspool against #MissProvence You can report the contents here so that we take class action https://t.co/vtd1M4uRZn pic.twitter.com/ voXl3wiKiA
- Licra (@_LICRA_) December 20, 2020
