The nearly 3 billion views collected on YouTube by Aya Nakamura have not convinced the far right of her legitimacy to sing during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.
However, according to L'Express, Emmanuel Macron would see the most listened to artist in France taking over Édith Piaf in order to open the ball next summer.
Where does the controversy start?
This hypothesis outraged far-right groups and parties.
On Saturday, the small ultra-right group Les Natifs unfurled a banner on the banks of the Seine and relayed it on their social networks: “There's no way Aya, this is Paris, not the Bamako market!
» A reference to the hit “Djadja” by the Franco-Malian star and a rejection of his presence during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
You can be racist but not deaf 🧏.. That's what hurts you!
I'm becoming a number 1 state subject in debates etc. but what do I really owe you?
Kedal https://t.co/rgnGeAAOfD
— Aya Nakamura (@AyaNakamuraa) March 10, 2024
The singer is quick to respond.
“You can be racist but not deaf,” she said on X the next day.
This is what hurts you (sic)!
I'm becoming a number 1 state subject in debates etc. but what do I really owe you?
Kedal.
»
Who denounces his presence at the Olympics?
Heirs of Génération identitaire – a movement dissolved in 2021 by the government – the Natives present themselves as a group of “proud and rooted young Parisians”, who wish to “push a certain number of subjects into the political-media sphere”.
From their banner, they persist, denouncing “a very political and completely demagogic choice” by Emmanuel Macron.
“Our country's musical culture has much more to offer than rap or the gibberish of Aya Nakamura's songs,” they complain.
Marion Maréchal sang a similar refrain at the microphone of BFMTV this Tuesday.
“This woman does not sing in French, she does not represent the French language,” argued the head of the Reconquête list!
to the Europeans, denying any racism.
With his reactionary ideas, Éric Zemmour had already heated up the supporters of his far-right party during a meeting.
According to the former presidential candidate, “babies” would be more sensitive to the notes of Mozart than to the words of Aya Nakamura.
The camp does not digest the vocabulary and the different languages used by the artist in his texts, despite the millions of fans and the international influence of the singer.
The far right and the Natives also justify their position by citing an Odoxa survey for RTL, according to which 63% of French people believe that the presence of the singer during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games would be a bad idea.
Opinions expressed while 19% of respondents say they have never heard of her, while 52% only know her by name.
Cojop, Dadju… what support?
Artists such as Dadju or Wejdene lined up behind Aya Nakamura, also supported by politicians, particularly those classified on the left, like Fabien Roussel or Sandrine Rousseau.
Above all, the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojop) sent “total support to the French artist most listened to in the world”.
No matter how much we love you, dear @AyaNakamuraa, don't care about the whole world 🎵😉
With you 💜💪 https://t.co/cYev9S3u3b
— Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (@AOC1978) March 10, 2024
“We were very shocked by the racist attacks targeting Aya Nakamura in recent days,” denounced Cojop, which neither confirmed nor denied a potential show by the singer.
The Minister of Sports also showed her support.
“No matter how much we love you, dear Aya Nakamura, don’t care about the whole world,” said Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on X. With you.
»
The interpreter of “Pookie” or “Copines” thanked his “commun” on
»
A complaint filed, what consequences?
Faced with the actions of the Natifs group, the Representative Council of Black Associations of France (CRAN) mandated the law firms of Maîtres Hanane Gasmi, Louise Kontogiannis and Alex Ursulet to file a complaint against racial character, public incitement to racial hatred and discrimination.”
“In addition to the banner, a certain racist ideology emerges from the caption of the photo published by the Natives, in particular accusing the president of Africanizing French songs and the rapprochement between insecurity and black people,” comments Me Hanane Gasmi.
The lawyer notes that “the dissolution of Génération Identitaire gave way to a new group and therefore did not have the desired effect”.
According to her, “by targeting Aya Nakamura, this publication also targets the black community and excludes it from the French population”.
The rebellious MP David Guiraud, for his part, announced that he had sent a report to the Paris Prosecutor for “racist insult” following the action of the Natives.
“Because it is not a
musical debate
but a racist debate,” said the elected official.
Contacted by Le Parisien, the Natives “are not surprised by this desire to take the matter to court” and say they are “ready to respond to it with” their lawyer.
“We consider that our action is not racist,” assures Grégoire, an activist from the identity group.
The point is raised that Aya Nakamura is of Malian origin.
His music is very African, certainly in French, but not representative of French culture.
»