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🇫🇷 France /Culture & Society

Jean-Luc Mélenchon targeted by racism complaint over “all white, all ugly” remarks

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • AGRIF filed two civil-party complaints in Paris against Jean-Luc Mélenchon and LFI member Imane Hamel over remarks it alleges publicly insulted groups based on race.
  • The complaints concern comments by Mélenchon at an LFI conference and by Hamel at a meeting in Clichy-sous-Bois.
  • AGRIF president Yann Baly said the group would no longer ignore remarks that could encourage people to take action, while the article notes the organization’s involvement in the Crépol case.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon is facing a racism complaint over remarks in which he described people as “all white, all ugly.” AGRIF, the General Alliance Against Racism and for Respect for French and Christian Identity, filed two civil-party complaints on Saturday at the Paris judicial court.

all white, all ugly

· Jean-Luc MélenchonThe phrase appears in remarks cited in the complaint filed over comments he made at an LFI conference.

The first concerns comments Mélenchon made at a La France Insoumise conference on March 18. The 74-year-old presidential candidate criticized “reactionaries” who had objected to his argument that the Saint-Denis basilica could not have been built without asking Muslims how to do it. He then attacked Gothic culture, saying the Goths were only capable of breaking arches, before referring to someone standing “at the other end of the African continent” so that people in France could act superior, “all white, all ugly.”

The second complaint targets Imane Hamel, LFI’s coordinator for its anti-racism campaign. At a meeting in Clichy-sous-Bois in Seine-Saint-Denis on October 16, 2025, Hamel said French people had been reduced to a bloodline with a rigid culture through a rewriting of history. She added: “We are no less French than the person whose only unfortunate glory is being born white.”

We are no less French than the person whose only unfortunate glory is being born white.

· Imane HamelHamel made the remark at an LFI meeting in Clichy-sous-Bois in October 2025.

AGRIF president Yann Baly said, “These words, in the current poisonous climate, can lead some people to take action. We have decided not to let anything pass anymore.” The organization recently attracted attention through the Crépol case, involving the killing of 16-year-old Thomas Perotto in November 2023. In late July, investigating judges reclassified the facts to include an aggravating circumstance of racism against the suspects, after observations from AGRIF about alleged anti-white and anti-French remarks during the killing.

These words, in the current poisonous climate, can lead some people to take action. We have decided not to let anything pass anymore.

· Yann BalyThe AGRIF president explained why the group filed the complaints.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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