On Saturday, the mayor (PS) of Lille, Martine Aubry, made it clear to the 2022 presidential candidate, Eric Zemmour, that he “is not welcome in Lille”. A sweet euphemism in the preamble of much less kind words. Nevertheless, unable to block her way, the elected official calls for demonstrations “to say no to racism and the far right”.
Eric Zemmour has planned to hold a major campaign meeting next Saturday at Lille Grand Palais. This will also be the second time that the ex-columnist will put his bags down in the capital of Flanders for an evening. “We cannot remain silent”, gets carried away Martine Aubry on behalf of the elected socialists, communists, ecologists, radicals and citizens of her majority group at the town hall.
Zemmour “undermines the foundations of the Republic”
“Everything he is, everything he claims to be, undermines the foundations of the fraternal Republic that we defend”, continues the socialist, denouncing what she calls the “postures” and the “excessive controversies” of the candidate . Her anger at seeing Eric Zemmour hold a meeting in Lille, Martine Aubry extends it to everything she considers to be a “nauseating ideology”. She also took the opportunity to ask the State again to “fight the identity nebula”, in particular by closing the bar “La Citadelle”.
If Eric Zemmour did not react to the words of the mayor of Lille, his supporters were not deprived. “The masks fall on an unacceptable partial conception of democracy”, gets carried away Philippe de Villiers on Twitter. “She is not the owner of Lille, whoever wants comes there… if he is in order: again and again left terrorism! “says Gilbert Collard on the same social network.
Without calling directly to demonstrate against the arrival of the candidate Zemmour, Martine Aubry more generally invites the people of Lille to a rally before the meeting, symbolically organized on the forecourt of Human Rights. “Alongside SOS Racisme, to say no to racism and the far right,” insists the socialist.