The Japan Times - 13 on trial in France over 'racist' stunt against Olympics singer

The defendants, linked to extreme-right group Les Natifs (the Natives), are on trial for a stunt in March 2024 -- after reports the superstar singer would perform at the Olympics -- when they unveiled a banner reading: "No way, Aya, this is Paris, not the Bamako market".

It was a reference to Mali's capital, where the 30-year-old singer was born, and her hit song "Djadja".

Nakamura's performance at the July 2024 opening ceremony sparked a political firestorm among far-right politicians and conservatives, a reaction French President Emmanuel Macron at the time described as "racist" and "shocking".

Les Natifs espouses the far-right, white-nationalist "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, according to which white Europeans are being deliberately supplanted by non-white immigrants.

The 13 defendants, aged between 20 and 31, face charges of publicly inciting hatred or violence -- or complicity in such incitement -- on the grounds of ethnicity, nationality, race or religion.

Only three appeared in court, while the remaining 10 were represented by their lawyers. Nakamura was not present at the hearing.

The defendants, including the spokesman for Les Natifs, Stanislas T., refused to answer questions, reading a statement to justify their actions.

"What is at stake today is the issue of freedom of expression and the independence of the judicial system," said the 24-year-old spokesman, denying the group had insulted Nakamura or incited hatred.

According to the activist, the aim was to denounce "a political choice that deliberately sought to promote the dissolution of our ancestral culture".

Their lawyers, Mathieu Sassi and Pierre-Vincent Lambert, requested the acquittal of their clients, saying Nakamura had been targeted because of her "vulgarity".

Prosecutors requested sentences of up to four months of prison.

Nakamura responded to the group's stunt on social media at the time, writing: "You can be racist, but you're not deaf... and that's what really bothers you! I'm suddenly the number one topic of debate -- but what do I really owe you? Nothing."

- 'Shock public opinion' -

Nakamura is the world's most listened-to Francophone singer, and her performance on one of Paris's fabled bridges, the Pont des Arts, was among the most-watched moments of the opening ceremony.

But when reports began circulating in early 2024 that the Mali-born, Paris-raised superstar was going to perform, far-right politicians and groups vehemently criticised the decision.

An appearance by Nakamura, who mixes French with Arabic and Malian slang, would "humiliate" the country, far-right leader Marine Le Pen suggested, taking aim at her supposed "vulgarity" and "the fact that she doesn't sing in French".

In March 2024, a dozen members of Les Natifs unfurled the banner targeting Nakamura along the River Seine. They posted a picture of the stunt on social media, and far-right outlets amplified the message.

Les Natifs, which has 10,000 followers on Instagram and 19,000 on X, has staged other provocative stunts.

In March, the group covered portraits of veiled women on display in a church in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis with black sheets.

Two people including Stanislas T. were due to appear in court in connection with that case on Thursday.

In February, the activists plastered an Air Algerie office in Paris with posters encouraging people with Algerian roots to "re-migrate".

The goal for groups like Les Natifs is to "provoke massive reactions and shock public opinion so we have no choice but to talk about them", said Marion Jacquet-Vaillant, an expert on far-right movements in France.

Capucine C., 22, who until March 2025 was a "parliamentary assistant" to three far-right National Rally MPs, was among the accused appearing in court.

Nakamura's complaint is not the only one stemming from the opening ceremony to head to trial.

A French court in May found seven people guilty of bullying Thomas Jolly, the ceremony's artistic director, who is openly gay.

Five people are to stand trial in September over similar complaints from Barbara Butch, a French DJ and lesbian activist who starred in a controversial scene during the ceremony.

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K.Tanaka--JT