It is an extremely sensitive subject which was raised this Monday, November 25. On the set of the show Don't touch my postCyril Hanouna asked his columnists a question.
“1 in 2 French people say they are in favor of zero immigration, do you agree?” he asked. When Gilles Verdez gave his opinion, the tone quickly rose. “I am for it. I say it, I have no scruples about saying that, he first declared before continuing: “Restoration, buildings, we can’t do it without immigrants”.
Gilles Verdez is proud to welcome immigrants and he does not hesitate to say it. “I find that immigration is an opportunity for France, I am proud that we can welcome immigrants” , he declared afterwards. An argument which immediately made Guillaume Genton react.
“That’s not true. The argument “we can't do it without immigrants” is not true. launched the columnist. Determined to make his opinion known, he does not use argument.
“There are laws and salaries that allow you to live. Foreigners are often made to work in precarious jobs where they receive poverty. continues the columnist.
A debate which created a lively controversy
Guillaume Genton was not of the same opinion and he did not hesitate to proclaim it loud and clear. “And there actually, they are the only ones to accept this kind of salary”, he continued before declaring:
“So I find it borderline racist to bring in guys from abroad who say to themselves “well, Mamadou, he’s going to agree to work for 800 bucks a month”. Enough to immediately react to Gilles Verdez who only revealed a single passage of this sentence. “You are not going to accuse me of racism Guillaume”, he got carried away.
Guillaume Genton quickly wanted to reassure his friend by declaring: “Not you but the approach of people who bring in foreigners considering that because they are foreigners, their work costs less and their lives are less important than ours”. For his part, Gilles Verdez understood that the debate was not against him and he once again defended immigrants. “Their lives are no less important,” he said before continuing:
“I forbid you, be careful. You said: It’s “borderline racist to say that”. I'm nervous, you accuse me of being racist, it's normal that I respond to you”.
Gilles Verdez: a columnist often accused of racism
This is not the first time that Gilles Verdez has been the subject of this type of accusations. A few months ago,
the tone rose between the columnist and Cyril Hanouna
when the debate focused on Anne Hidalgo. The latter wanted to replace Catholic schools with HLM. “You, I'll tell you, you are against everything that relates to Catholics. I see it every time… Every time there is something about Catholics, you are against… It's horrible !”said the host.
For her part, Géraldine Maillet tried to obtain details by asking: “But the question is: if these were private Muslim schools, would you agree?!” Before Gilles Verdez has time to respond, it was Cyril Hanouna who immediately said: “No, he wouldn’t agree!”
. The host, determined to openly attack his columnist, then declared that he was racist.
“As soon as there is something about Catholics, you are against it. You are engaging in religious racism… And I really mean it!”he concluded, not giving Gilles Verdez time to respond.
