French Mayor Under Fire for Using Racial Slur to Describe Youth Violating Lockdown Rules

"Some people do not respect the confinement rules. [...] I don’t understand why we would yell at a granny who goes shopping and has forgotten her little paper. Whereas there is always a part of wesh wesh who are gathered and who understand nothing at all. There, we must be intransigent. [...]." These words of the mayor of Roche-la-Molière provoked the anger of SOS Racisme.

The branch of the organization in La Loire questioned Éric Berlivet to ask him for explanations. "Using the word ’wesh wesh’ is still quite connotative. We think he is targeting a certain category of people, young people from the neighborhood. So, we simply asked him why he was opposing the wesh wesh to the old lady. But he hasn’t answered us since March 23 when the letter reached him," says Saïd Hamimi, legal manager of SOS Racisme in the Loire.

Subsequently, the mayor responds to France Bleu. "We have other things to do right now than to dwell on subjects that are of no interest. Everyone interprets it as they see fit. In any case, these are groups of young people who do not respect the rules, declared Éric Berlivet. It may not have been appropriate. Next time, I’ll say ’savage’ or ’weirdo’. But it’s always the same profiles. So, it’s not very complicated to understand."

The other fact denounced by the association is the exclusive distribution of masks to people over 70 years of age, registered on the electoral lists. "Excluded are [...] new arrivals, people who have chosen not to be registered, even if they pay their taxes in the municipality," it is specified. For SOS Racisme, this is an "indirect discrimination".