Immediately published, immediately deleted.
The prefect of Hérault, Hugues Moutouh, triggered strong reactions with an ephemeral tweet on the “
delinquency of foreign homeless people
”, this Thursday, September 29.
"
We will be intractable [...] they are not welcome
," he wrote.
Faced with the indignation of part of the political class and associations, the representative of the State quickly deleted his post.
Hugues Moutouh reacted to an article in
Midi Libre
reporting the arrest of a man suspected of having tried to stab passengers of a TER with a knife.
Since his arrival in Montpellier in July 2021, the prefect has given himself the mission of fighting crime.
An image that has since earned him the nickname of “
prefect bulldozer
”.
Read alsoWith 334 victims per day, the worrying increase in crime in public transport
In his tweet, Hugues Moutouh mentioned in particular "
104 police custody
" of "
foreign homeless
people " in two months.
However, he directly pointed the finger at nationals from two countries in particular: Morocco and Algeria.
Remarks relating to stigma, according to several associations and political figures.
Indignation on the left, approval on the right
Questioned by
France 3
, Sophie Mazas, the lawyer for the Montpellier Human Rights League, said that “
these comments are borderline indignant
”.
“
What is shocking is that he manages to dehumanize, in so few words, refugees and homeless people.
It's really choosing the scapegoat, the one who is on the street and who has the face of a wog
, ”she continued.
The FLI MP for Montpellier Nathalie Oziol also reacted by denouncing the "
darmanization of the prefect
".
In a Twitter post, she insisted on recalling that Hugues Moutouh “
is the one who wants to send
'
Golgoths
'
to wage war on delinquents and foreigners.
These are neither words nor actions that are expected of a prefect
”.
Read alsoThe worrying increase in juvenile delinquency
On the other side of the political spectrum, Marie Christine Hamel, Les Républicains du Var candidate in the last legislative elections, expressed her solidarity with the prefect: "
Speech must be released to stem the gangrene of foreign delinquency
".
On the side of the National Rally, the deputy of Hérault Aurélien Lopez-Liguori supported the words of Hugues Moutouh: “
Let us be intractable with the foreign delinquents who rot the lives of the French!
".
Eric Zemmour, the leader of Reconquête!, also welcomed the speech of the prefect of Montpellier in a tweet: "
Congratulations to the prefect of Hérault who told the truth, before deleting his publication
".
