Mélenchon Defends Benzema Against Government Accusations of Muslim Brotherhood Ties

Addressing Benzema, Mélenchon highlighted his lack of knowledge of football, while criticizing the government’s demonization of the player, describing him as a "remarkable person" beyond ethnic or religious divides.

"Hello Mr. Benzema. I don’t know you and I know nothing about football. But the government and its friends have chosen to demonize you. They call you a ’French on paper’. With such enemies speaking such words, you must be a remarkable person, without ethnic or religious hatred. Grandson of people also treated as ’French on paper’ by the Pétainists who took away their papers from those who had been French for less than ten years, I know that France belongs to all those who choose it. Those who insult us do not deserve it," he wrote on X.

Karim Benzema is the target of serious accusations, notably from LR MEP Nadine Morano, who described him as a "French on paper" during a television intervention. This offensive comes in an already tense climate due to the remarks of Gérald Darmanin establishing a link between the athlete and the Muslim Brotherhood. Faced with these accusations, Me Hugues Vigier, Benzema’s lawyer, firmly denied any connection between his client and the Islamist organization, evoking a possible complaint for defamation or public insult against the Minister of the Interior.

Valérie Boyer, LR senator, mentioned the possibility of "deprivation of nationality" for Karim Benzema if the allegations of ties with the Muslim Brotherhood were confirmed.