French-Malian star Aya Nakamura, the most listened to French-speaking singer in the world, called on her social networks on Tuesday for “everyone to go and vote, and against the only extreme to condemn.”
“I am well placed to understand and know the place of racism in our country. They are the same people who get angry when we shine because we haven’t finished shining,” she wrote.
The singer had been the victim of attacks from the far right in mid-March, when the French weekly L’Express suggested that she sing at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games (July 26-August 11), with the possibility of covering Edith Piaf. A small far-right group then posted on social media a photo of a banner held by a dozen of its members on the banks of the Seine proclaiming: “There’s no way Aya, this is Paris, not the Bamako market!” The expression “There’s no way” is taken from her global hit “Djadja”.
For several days, some have been criticizing Aya Nakamura for not giving her position after the historic scores of the far-right National Rally (RN) party in the European elections and the first round of the French legislative elections.
“And yes, I am discreet on these subjects, sometimes we don’t feel relevant and legitimate enough to speak and say the right things on areas that we master ap” (not), she justified herself on Tuesday. Which does not mean “that we don’t have an opinion”, continued the singer. “Now, I understand that my position as an artist requires me to speak out, because it is an important moment for all of us.”
Earlier in the week, on her networks, Aya Nakamura had contented herself with a lapidary “Fuck the RN etc”.
