French mayor bans showing of British film judging it to be racist
Far-right director is currently serving jail sentence in UK and film is banned in UK
Activist Tommy Robinson was imprisoned for 18 months following a screening of the film in the UK
Monkey Butler Images/Shutterstock
A commune in southern France has banned the planned screening of a film by a far-right British activist on the grounds it is ‘racist’ and may lead to incidents of public disorder.
A screening of the film ‘Silenced’, directed by well-known far-right activist Tommy Robinson was planned by local political group Ligue du Midi.
Those wishing to attend the screening were asked to sign-up online, where they would then be given information about the classified location of the screening four days prior.
However Frédéric Lafforgue, the mayor of the Castelnau-le-Lez commune (Hérault), issued a municipal public order to ban the event.
“The film… contains conspiracy theories to the effect that the Government, the media and the judiciary are protecting Muslim fundamentalists, relaying false information, defending Sharia law and lying to the people, thereby propagating racist ideas,” said the order banning the screening.
“Social networks are reporting that a counter-demonstration is being organised,” adds the order, with local authorities fearing public disorder if the opposition groups clash.
“It's a film that calls for hatred and racism. So it is not in my genes. As far as I am concerned, things are very clear on this point,” said Mr Lafforgue to Agence France Presse.
Silenced has previously been screened in France, including in the Vendée department, as well as elsewhere in Europe, despite being banned in the UK.
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Film banned in the UK
The film, originally financed by far-right US media company InfoWars, contains defamatory remarks made by Mr Robinson about a Syrian refugee in the UK.
He lost a libel case in 2021 concerning these comments, and Silenced focuses on the case itself and Mr Robinson’s original claims, which he repeats in the film. This is despite rules laid out in the 2021 case.
Despite a High Court ruling banning the film in the UK, public screenings have taken place.
Mr Robinson is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence relating to contempt of court over the libel case and the subsequent airing of the film during a far-right demonstration in the UK.
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