French lawmakers charged with leading anti-hate speech have been accused of bullying and using biased racist language. These accusations surfaced against MP Letitia Avia while her parliamentary group presented a second reading bill before the National Assembly, demanding online platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to remove illegal content.
This accusation is deeply embarrassing for the French President, Emmanuel Macron, because he threw his weight behind the Avia initiative as part of efforts to crack down on anti-Semitism, after desecrating several Jewish cemeteries and buildings last year. Five of Avia's former parliament aides told the investigative site, Media Part, that her behavior was completely detached from the ideals she says support her in public. All of them asked not to be named, and showed footage of the messages that I sent on "Telegram", the coded messaging service, supporting their allegations.
In June 2018, she criticized a government minister, saying, "She is my friend, but she does her job very badly. This is what happens when you put an official ... at the head of your duties." Sources also claim that they persecuted their employees, especially an Asian man, and those sources described him as "a scapegoat for her." She was sometimes called the Chinese man, and she used racial clichés when she talked about him.
In 2018, Avia sent a letter asking who had cashed a check sent to her office. When she learned that he was her aide with Asian descent, she commented on this by saying: "I smell the Chinese." In another message, she told him: “You are a fake Chinese. You don't know how to use a Mac. ”
Former aides said that Avia often insults other women MPs, noting that they are "prostitutes," and will make derogatory statements about her crew members or about party activists. "She said one of them was very fat, and another was wearing bad clothes," said a former aide. "Avia is like a high school girl who has never grown up," said the assistant.
Avia, 34, previously worked as a lawyer and is among the early members of the Republican forward, the centrist to whom Macron belongs when he was founded in 2016. She became a Member of Parliament a year later, when Macron sought to renew the blood of French politics. She also teaches at the Paris Institute of Political Science, and is widely portrayed as a rising star in French public life. In a statement, Avia denied the allegations, saying that she had treated her aides well, was committed to combating racism and gender bias, and said she would sue Media Bart for defamation.
Its bill requires online platforms to remove hate speech within 24 hours of notification, or face fines of up to 250,000 euros for the first suite, and up to 20 million euros for repeat offenses.
Avia denied the allegations of her racism, saying that she had treated her aides well, and was committed to combating racism and gender bias.