LCI Columnist Sparks Outrage with Racist Comments on French Gendarmes’ Arrest in Israel

Samantha de Bendern caused controversy after her analysis deemed biased on the arrest of two French gendarmes in Israel. "We don’t see the faces of the gendarmes, but one thing that could perhaps excuse the behavior of the Israelis would be if the gendarmes looked like... would perhaps be of Maghrebi origin or looked Arab," the columnist said Thursday on the LCI set. This is "not the case," the show’s host quickly reacted to limit the damage. But the irreparable had been done.

The sequence, posted on X on Friday by a user of this social network, sparked an outcry. Many Internet users expressed their outrage at these remarks by Samantha de Bendern, denouncing an "unabashed racism." Widely relayed, the video went viral, fueling the debates on the web. Deputies from La France Insoumise (LFI) and the Greens also denounced these remarks from the researcher that some describe as "ordinary racism."

"The engine of unconditional support for Israel is hatred of Arabs," wrote Insoumis deputy Thomas Portes on X. "What a shame," commented Mathilde Panot, president of the LFI parliamentary group in the National Assembly, for her part.

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