According to an investigation by the media Les Jours, 15 deputies from the National Rally were members, or still are, of a private Facebook group, in which racist publications and calls for murder were posted. Among them, five are elected from Hauts-de-France. Following these revelations, MP Thomas Portes (LFI) took legal action.
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In an article published this Tuesday, December 18, the media Les Jours exposed the membership of 15 National Rally (RN) deputies in a private Facebook group, sharing racist publications and calls for murder. Entitled “National Rally (direction 2027!)”, Les Jours reports that the group, bringing together 6,500 members, describes itself as “a group reserved for lovers of France who have had enough of Islam and its hatred towards us“.
Among the deputies listed by the media, five are elected from Hauts-de-France: Guillaume Florquin (North), Philippe Ballard (Oise), Alexandre Sabatou (Oise), Claire Marais-Beuil (Oise) and Matthias Renault (Somme).
D‘after Les Jours, none of them posted “remarks falling within the scope of the law“But none, either.”denounce illegal messages“despite the obligation they have to do so, under article 40 of the code of criminal procedure. Indeed, this article stipulates that: “Any constituted authority, any public officer or civil servant who, in the exercise of his duties, acquires knowledge of a crime or misdemeanor is required to give notice without delay to the public prosecutor.“.
It is in this context that Thomas Portes, deputy of France Insoumise of Seine-Saint-Denis, announced to contact the public prosecutor of Paris, on
The media writes that these elected officials “use this Facebook group as a completely normal communication channel […] in the midst of calls for murder, racist comments and photomontages“. In the article, Les Jours highlights several examples of political posts, amid hateful messages.
Contacted by telephone, Claire Marais-Beuil, deputy for the 1st constituency of Oise, declared: “Honestly, I don’t know when I joined.“She says she joined the group in relation to”nom which corresponds to our ambitions“. She claims to have never interacted through comments or likes. She admits not to “never followed“messages broadcast and recognizes”his great stupidity and stupidity“, before adding “I am completely responsible“.
When asked if she has taken legal action as stipulated in Article 40, she replies that she is waiting for a consultation, with her colleagues concerned, to see what “action commune” can be achieved. In the meantime, she plans to personally apologize on her social networks.
For their part, Philippe Ballard and Alexandre Sabatou, deputy for the 2nd and 3rd constituency of Oise, interviewed by Les Jours, blamed their communications team and “therefore accused their community managers responsible for occasionally sharing content“, summarizes the media.
This Thursday, December 19, Matthias Renault, the deputy for the 3rd constituency of the Somme, wrote a right of reply, on X. He claims to have joined this Facebook group, “a month ago, and have since had no interaction with the group“.
He specifies that he is “member of other groups with similar names, also for a month”, without having “had no interaction with them either.“He recognizes”condemnable comments and publications“ and declares that on “a Facebook group with 6,000 members, there are bound to be a few idiots“.
Contacted for the article, the media Les Jours indicates that nine of these fifteen deputies have since subsequently left the group.
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