“It took proof of the use of racist remarks to act”, explains the deputy mayor Sophie Roques

The president of a nautical club in Marseilles which evokes the possibility of a “ratonnade” against the “Arabs”, in full meeting under the aegis of the metropolis of Aix-Marseille Provence on the incivilities on the port of The point. This is the racist scene reported by
Marsactu this Tuesday, witnessed by several elected officials of the metropolis, such as Didier Réault, and the city of Marseille. Present that day, the deputy mayor of Marseille Sophie Roques returns to 20 minutes on this incident and justifies the late reaction of the town hall to sanction the president of this association.

What did you think when you heard the vehement and racist comments from the president of the Pointe-Rouge yachting club?

You should know that this is the first time that I sat on the port council. I represented the municipality in this capacity. I don’t know anyone around the table. There was also no round table to introduce himself. Everyone seemed to know each other. When the comments were made, no one around the table looked surprised. I was the only one with big eyes at the chairman of the meeting, who is in charge of regulating this meeting. I expected a reaction from him. She never came. Everyone seemed to be used to this type of behavior.

Why not have reacted at the time? In the recordings broadcast by our colleagues, no elected official seems to be moved by such remarks …

At the time, it is already violent to hear. At first I was stunned. I was stunned, very shocked by the comments that were made, which are unacceptable. The city has decided today to freeze all grant applications to this association. We cannot condone giving subsidies to a president whose words are racist and shameful. Then, what means, concretely, could I have?

Could you not go to court under article 40 of the code of criminal procedure?

But in order to act, you needed evidence, writings or records. We were waiting for the minutes of the meeting, which had to be communicated to us, as is the case in any institutional meeting. We thought we might have it at the next port council. So far, in any case, we haven’t had it. It turns out that it was the press that had a recording. Here.

But couldn’t you crack down by asking your deputy colleagues to freeze these subsidies, you who witnessed the scene directly? We have the impression that the Marsactu article has precipitated things a little …

These are things that we had discussed, but similarly, we were waiting for concrete elements, a report. Otherwise, it becomes a little word against word. Again, it is a question of evidence and traces. Before making decisions, concrete elements were needed.