Far-Right French Politician Faces Legal Action Over Controversial Christchurch Tweet

Deleted since, this message sparked a strong controversy on social networks, prompting the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM, via the National Observatory against Islamophobia) to mandate the lawyer at the Nîmes bar Khadija Aoudia to file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor against the elected official "for apology of terrorism and incitement to crime."

"Following the Christchurch attacks in New Zealand, which left 50 dead and dozens injured, the regional RN (National Rally) elected official from Brittany made a reprehensible, dangerous and abominable tweet," regretted Abdallah Zekri, president of the observatory.

For Zekri, "Ms. Catherine Blein is not at her first slip; during the 2017 legislative elections, she was suspended by her Party the RN for Islamophobic remarks by declaring: ’Shame on Islam that must be eradicated from our soil as a precautionary principle,’" considering that it is "undeniable both in its meaning and in its scope that this tweet arouses a feeling of hostility and rejection towards the Muslim community."

Catherine Blein is already the subject of a complaint, this time from the President of the Brittany Region, Loïc Chesnais-Girard, for whom "words have a meaning; let everyone assume their responsibilities in the Republic," describing the incriminated remarks as "shameful, dangerous and scandalous."