Hérault Prefect Sparks Controversy with Tweet Blaming Moroccan Migrants for Violence

As he was reacting to the recent deadly attacks that occurred in his department, the prefectural authority wrote, last Thursday, on his official account, a message that is rather shocking about migrants from two Maghreb countries.

According to the official, the latter are responsible for delinquency and armed violence in his territory. He cites a figure: "104 police custody since August. Algerians and Moroccans in the majority." "I want to put an end to the delinquency of foreign homeless people," he read, concluding his ephemeral tweet with "they are not welcome."

This message from the prefecture of Hérault did not go unnoticed, provoking many reactions since its deletion, particularly from the associations and collectives that come to the aid of migrants. This is the case of Sophie Mazah, the lawyer of the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme in Montpellier, who indicated that "these remarks are on the verge of indignity. As if there was a specific delinquency to foreign and homeless people."

"What is shocking is that he manages to dehumanize, in so few words, refugees and homeless people. It is really choosing the scapegoat, the one who is on the street and who has a face of a foreigner. We throw them to the wolves, we dehumanize, as if these people were the main scourge. [...] Is Prefect Moutouh in tune with a part of Europe, Hungary, Italy...?" she deplored.