French Parliament suspended after Black MP is told to ‘return to Africa’

A sitting of the French Parliament was suspended after a Black lawmaker was asked by another to “return to Africa.”

NUPES MP Carlos Martens Bilongo was on his feet making a submission when the yet-to-be-identified colleague said to be of the far-right bloc yelled at him.

A visibly shocked Bilongo, member of left-wing France Insoumise party, and colleagues on his side of the House vehemently protested at the phrase.

Subsequently, a leader of the Parliament demanded which particular MP had uttered the phrase, but no one owned up as the far-right bloc started shouting.

The session was temporarily suspended.

Speaking outside Parliament after the incident, Bilongo expressed grave reservations at the comment and described it as a “shame,” and something he never in his life thought would be raised in Parliament.

Bilongo is a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee who was born on December 31, 1990 in Paris, he is the MP for Val-d’Oise (8th district).

The lawmaker is a 31-year-old from a Congolese background.

Sickening and worrying. A French far-right MP yelled at NUPES MP Carlos Martens Bilongo to “return to Africa”. The Assembly was shocked. The session was suspended. pic.twitter.com/xh9DnlcyLF

— Rim-Sarah Alouane (@RimSarah) November 3, 2022