LFI MP Carlos Martens Bilongo speaks of “intellectual poverty” within the north of France; “insults which only deserve contempt”, reacts Xavier Betrand | EUROtoday

The deputy La France insoumise (LFI) of Val-d’Oise Carlos Martens Bilongo was criticized by a number of right-wing and far-right elected officers, Thursday 1^er January, after the printed of extracts from a program throughout which the elected official identified a supposed “ intellectual poverty » inhabitants of the north of France.

Guest of the program “La Librairie Africaine”, on YouTube, Wednesday December 23, the MP spoke with columnist Ludovic-Hermann Wanda and lawyer Mbeko Tabula. During a dialogue as regards to racism, the three audio system deplore the lack of understanding, in France, of the presence of African troopers within the French military and alongside it in the course of the Second World War and in the course of the marketing campaign for the liberation of France occupied by the German military.

“When they went to school, we didn’t tell them that it was thanks to [soldats] Arabs and blacks that we were able to significantly liberate their country”says Mr. Tabula. “Not everyone has it, but racists know it knowingly”replies Carlos Martens Bilongo. “The Frenchman himself, racist or not, does not know the history of France”insists Mbeko Tabula. “Ah yes, because, already, the racist is very stupid too (…). There have been works on this, on tactics in relation to racism. It’s in the territories where people don’t have diplomas, where you have intellectual poverty in the territories, the north of France, etc., [que] the racists are ahead »then comments the MP.

Online extracts

Although the show has since been deleted, excerpts can still be seen on social media. This did not escape Xavier Bertrand, the president of Les Républicains (LR) of the Hauts-de-France region. “After Jean-Luc Mélenchon, it is now one of his deputies who is attacking the people of the North. We have no lessons to learn from them: the insults of @BilongoCarlos only deserve contempt from the inhabitants of Hauts-de-France”he castigated, Wednesday December 31, on X, denouncing “an assumed strategy of rebellious France, which is that of all extremes: divide, oppose each other to create chaos”. Sébastien Chenu, deputy of the National Rally of the North and vice-president of the National Assembly, criticized the ” contempt “ of his parliamentary colleague.

A number of days earlier, throughout this similar program, Carlos Martens Bilongo had already made headlines, by suggesting that Rachida Dati, minister of tradition and candidate nominated by LR for Paris City Hall, had progressed in her political profession by profiting from“a couch promotion, or sleeping with men”. “To each his own”, he stated, to the laughter of the opposite company.

Three days later, mentioning “a duty to set an example”he apologized on X for these statements. “I regret the sexist remarks that I used, which absolutely do not reflect the principles that should be ours, nor the respect that is due to women involved in politics, whatever their sensitivities”he wrote.