A member of the National Rally, of Egyptian origin, was called a camel by a controversial humorist, without this seeming to shock the president of SOS Racisme, who on the contrary continued the thread of the animal metaphor, causing controversy in the controversy .
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It all starts on Friday February 21 when the comedian Yassine Belattar - who was also indicted for moral harassment and death threats last March - publishes a video on Twitter, since withdrawn, starting with " My camel, you know very well that I t 'love '. Its author is addressed to the member of the political bureau of the National Rally, Jean Messiha, born in Egypt in 1970 and naturalized French in 1990. Yassine Belattar continued: “ No one respected you and now you are the king of camels ”. Then again: " Jean, my camel, I spoke at the Thoiry zoo, they are ok so that you can have your next meeting with your head… ".
But the case does not end there. Still on Twitter, the interested party finally replied to the humorist: “ Hello @SOSRacism? Hello @_Licra_? I am the victim of racist comments on @Twitter. Can you bring a civil action with me? ". The response of the president of SOS Racisme, Dominique Sopo, intervenes quickly on the social network, but not in the direction desired by the RN framework: “ Dear Jean Messiha, I think that LICRA will be happy to constitute itself with SOS Racisme in order to end the hateful comparison between yourself and a camel. This comparison is disgraceful for camels. Rest assured that we will not pass up. Kisses ".
It is then LICRA's turn to react. " It's been a year since a real fight of titans has been fought by @JeanMessiha and Y. Belattar who send themselves to the face of the names of camels ", explains the anti-racist association, which adds to justify its reaction: " You belong to a political family which holds the record of convictions for racism, anti-Semitism. You have nothing to demand. If you consider the comments of @d_sopo racist, take justice to the name of the anti-racist laws that you want to repeal for 40 years! (...) To claim from an association that his party vomits such support is Tartuffe à confesse! ".
In view of the tweets exchanged between Jean Messiha and Yassine Belattar, it seems that these animal comparisons launched in the figure by each other are an ancient story, going in both directions. " Here, here, brother @BelattarYassine has changed his camel and now spits on the hand that feeds him, " said Jean Messiha on February 5, 2019. The RN executive suspects Yassine Belattar of defending Islamism and accuses him of having been close, at the same time, to the presidential party (the humorist was a member of the city council formed by the President of the Republic). " Jean, with your desert camel head, I hope you will be in the remake of Aladdin ", loose Yassine Belattar in response. In turn, Jean Messiha retorts: " Say Yassine Belattar with your camel head ... ".
In addition, this reaction from the two anti-racist associations, which did not condemn the words of Yassine Belattar, has aroused strong criticism, close to the politician, but not only. RN President Marine Le Pen denounced a “ scam that has been going on for years, heavily subsidized by public money. It is urgent to stop servicing these money pumps contrary to our republican values! ". " Consider that it is not racist because the victim is ... at RN! We dream ! The racist comments of @d_sopo , chairman of @SOS_Racisme are very serious. He should apologize, resume or resign, "said right-wing MP Julien Aubert, former candidate for the presidency of LR.
"Have you gone mad?"
The editorialist Jean-Michel Apathie estimated that if “ Dominique Sopo is not expelled from the association after this tweet, SOS Racisme will have to explain to us the meaning it gives to the word 'racism' ”. " But have you all gone mad?" Have you all decided to help the @RNational_off come to power? “, Also reacted the writer and critic Éric Naulleau.
Jean Messiha said that he planned to file a complaint against SOS Racisme and LICRA and reported racist insults against him since this controversy.
He was also surprised at the difference in treatment with Christiane Taubira, who had been called a “monkey” by an RN candidate when she was Minister of Justice.