“How would she not represent France?”
, asked Patrick Bruel at the microphone of BFMTV, Thursday, on the sidelines of his concert in Paris.
She is Aya Nakamura, at the heart of a virulent controversy, largely fueled by the far right, surrounding her possible participation in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
“I would be delighted to hear her sing Édith Piaf. Plus, she will step out of her comfort zone, it will be a little different from what she does. And I'm sure she'll take a lot of pleasure in it and so will we,”
added the singer, specifying that he preferred not to
“imagine the reasons why there is this controversy...”
Since the revelations of
L'Express
, at the end of February, on the potential participation of the Franco-Malian singer in the opening ceremony, criticism from the far right has increased against Aya Nakamura.
Faced with this hostility, the 28-year-old singer expressed her irritation on social networks:
“You can be racist but not deaf... That's what hurts you.
I become a number 1 state subject in debates, etc.
But what do I really owe you?
Kedal,”
she retorted.
Aya Nakamura can count on a lot of support, like Patrick Bruel.
On Wednesday, at the microphone of RTL, Benjamin Biolay showed his support for the singer:
“I think that Aya Nakamura singing Piaf can be beautiful!
It can be an incredible thing because she sings it really well, said the singer.
But hey, they [“the fascists”] will always say that she sings badly anyway.
It's not their problem, the truth.
The idea is to pit people against each other,”
he declared, following in the footsteps of other artists.
The Franco-Congolese singer Dadju, in particular, one of the heavyweights of RnB in France, spoke on X on March 10, accusing the Natives of
“lynching the biggest artist in the country with CM1 arguments.
It wasn't even a fight but now, she has to sing, we will support, he wrote.
It's not Bamako, it's not Bamako.
Bunch of dogs.”
Words that touched the singer who spoke again on social networks to express her gratitude:
“Thank you for the support, especially to my community. I have the impression of having introduced you to Edith Piaf and that she is reincarnated in me The rest, whether they like us or not, it’s their back.”
Alexandre Lasch, the head of Snep, recalled the presence of the singer
“in the top sales of 46 countries”
, affirming that she is
“an instrument of French soft power”
and that
“unworthy controversies will not change anything.” »
.
On the occasion of a general hearing held Tuesday before the Committee on Culture, Education, Communication and Sport, Rachida Dati, the Minister of Culture warned against
"
pretexts to attack someone out of pure racism.”
“Attacking an artist for who she is is unacceptable.
“It’s a crime
,” she exclaimed.
On social networks, Amélie Oudea-Castera, the Minister of Sports also reacted, giving her support to the singer:
“No matter how much we love you, dear Aya Nakamura, don’t care about the whole world.”