He would have made a mistake during a presentation of the renovation project of a railway line in Nièvre, on August 22. Michel Neugnot, first federal secretary of the Socialist Party of Côte-d’Or, would have responded to a question from Mahamadou Sangaré, municipal elected official in Nevers, with “is it good for you, baobab?” “.
The Socialist Party announced on Wednesday that it had suspended the elected official, who is also vice-president of the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region, from his functions as a precautionary measure. The decision was taken “by the majority of its members” to refer the matter to the National Conflict Commission following comments.
The elected official firmly denies having made racist remarks
An independent and sovereign disciplinary body, the National Conflict Commission of the Socialist Party “must, within the framework of an adversarial procedure respectful of the rights of the defense, shed full light on the accusations made against Michel Neugnot”, writes the PS in a press release, referring to “alleged facts”. “I have no doubt that the contradictory debates will reestablish the truth of the facts,” reacted Michel Neugnot, assuring that “never” did he “address this elected official in these terms”, as “confirmed by several testimonies” . “I made reference to the African tradition of talking around the baobab,” he said, the public discussion between him and the elected official then taking place under a tree.
“I know this expression well,” he said, referring to the work he has done in the past in Madagascar for an NGO. The politician also denounced “a set-up”, as reported by France 3 Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Last March, the party’s Rhône federation was shaken by a case of racism.