INTERVIEW. Racism in France: “There has been a liberation of speech”, in the face of discrimination, Dominique Sopo calls for testimony

Racist acts increased by 32% in 2023. And after tumultuous European and legislative elections, which brought the RN to the gates of power, we can fear that this will continue this year. Dominique Sopo, president of SOS Racisme, takes stock of the situation this summer.

How do you monitor racist acts in France ?

The legal hotline receives calls from people who complain of having been victims of racism. Its activity almost doubled between June 9 and the beginning of July. Between the “victory” of the RN in the European elections and the legislative elections, the number of calls doubled compared to the same period last year. There has been a liberation of racist speech.

How is racism manifesting itself this summer ?

It could be the refusal of a service or directly insults or violence. There is the case of a woman who wanted to reserve a leisure center for young people from a social center. She was refused access. There is also a case in Corsica: young people from the Paris region were insulted, even threatened with blows, by other young people who called them “dirty n*gga”. Or on a beach in Agde. A person of Maghrebi origin came across people who gave him a Nazi salute and insulted him.

It's surprising that this is happening in a holiday context ?

In the common mind, vacations are a time to relax, to be carefree, to let go… we let go of our worries. But when you are part of a group likely to be discriminated against, this risk of discrimination, racism, or even homophobia or sexism… there is no reason why it should stop because it is the holidays. When you are likely to be targeted by hatred, it will sweep through the whole of life. It can arise at any time, including summer. That doesn't stop it. Racists don't take their racism on vacation. People can be more relaxed and less vocal, but if they don't like black people and Arabs, they're not going to suddenly stop.

Do victims systematically file complaints ?

There are not necessarily complaints because people are simply calling to report the facts. But to file a complaint, it must be proven. If there is no witness to say that it happened, how do you find the person? ? How do you prove the assault? ? How not to be in a “word against word”  ? Often, when people call us, it is not so much to launch legal proceedings, but to simply state what they have experienced and say: “This is what is happening to us, know it”.

You encourage reporting these facts ?

We encourage people who are victims of this kind of thing, even if it does not lead to a complaint, to report the facts. It is necessary to make it known that it exists, there is no reason for it to be kept quiet.

Why is it necessary to make it known that these attacks exist ?

Often when seeing the testimonies, readers say to themselves :“Oh really, how is that possible ?” Yes, it is possible. The cases I have cited to you are not exceptional cases, they are things that we hear quite regularly, as a demonstration of racism in our country. People need to hear and understand that there are millions of people who can be victims of this type of act, in a totally unexpected way.

Are these reports likely to continue to increase??

We can think that they are likely to multiply in the future – but we will take stock at the end of the summer – in light of the particular context that has opened up racist discourse. Conversely, on July 7, we saw a kind of surge that said:“No, we're not going to be led by a party that is characterized by its racism.” And then the atmosphere of the opening of the Olympic Games, with this ceremony which admittedly, caused controversy on social networks, but which rather created a form of pride and cohesion in the country… it can also calm a form of expression of racism. It can ebb occasionally. It is not certain that at the end of this summer we will see an explosion, we must be vigilant.

It is a collective responsibility to fight against it?

Finally, it is this constant vigilance that allows us to say to those who might be tempted to express their racism: “Watch out, the patrol is watching to see if you behave badly”. This is our role at SOS Racisme, just as it must be the role of the public authorities who are not always firm enough or responsive to this topic.

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