French Interior Minister Threatens Legal Action Over Islam Debate on TV Show

Gérard Darmanin was to answer several questions from the spectators on various burning issues, but the exchanges became embroiled during the debates on Islam. Very critical, Nadiya Lazzouni, a journalist at "Le Média TV", accused Gérald Darmanin of "endangering French people of Muslim faith by voting for the separatism law which stigmatizes an entire part of the national community". She also reproaches the Minister of the Interior for having stated that Islam is "a problem".

Visibly annoyed by these remarks, the Minister of the Interior threatened to file a complaint against the journalist for "defamation" if she does not withdraw them, because, according to him, it is a "personal attack". "I do not have the same conception of Islam as you and I have no lesson to learn from you since I come from a Muslim family," clarified Gérard Darmanin, noting that Le Média TV which his interlocutor represents is close to La France insoumise of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, an opposition party.

On the issue of the veil, the two debaters had lively exchanges. Addressing the ongoing uprising of part of the Iranian population, Gérald Darmanin denounced Nadiya Lazzouni’s silence on the fight of Iranian women "to remove the veil", describing the journalist’s "discourse" as "extremely dangerous". And for her to react: "The policy that is being pursued here in France is exactly the counterpart of Iran." A response that "shocked" the minister who finds the woman "excessive" and the comparison "insulting".