French Parliament suspended after Black MP is told to 'return to Africa'

A sitting of the French Parliament was suspended after a Black lawmaker was asked by a colleague to "return to Africa." NUPES MP Carlos Martens Bilongo was on his feet making a submission on immigration when a colleague in the far-right National Rally party, Gregoire de Fournas, yelled at him from across the benches. A visibly shocked Bilongo, member of left-wing France Insoumise party, and colleagues on his side of the House vehemently protested at the phrase. Subsequently, a leader of the Parliament demanded which particular MP had uttered the phrase, which triggered shouting by the far-right bloc. The session was temporarily suspended. Speaking outside Parliament after the incident, Bilongo expressed grave reservations at the comment and described it as a "shame," and something he never in his life thought would be raised in Parliament. Bilongo is a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee who was born on December 31, 1990 in Paris, he is the MP for Val-d'Oise (8th district). The lawmaker is a 31-year-old from a Congolese background. The offending MP, Gregoire de Fournas, in his defense said he was asking a migrant boat unable to enter France "to return to Africa," and that the term was not directed at Bilongo.

Sickening and worrying. A French far-right MP yelled at NUPES MP Carlos Martens Bilongo to "return to Africa". The Assembly was shocked. The session was suspended. pic.twitter.com/xh9DnlcyLF— Rim-Sarah Alouane (@RimSarah) November 3, 2022