Segregation of “country of Human Rights”- The Politicisation of Killing a 12-year-old French girl 

Content and Trigger Warning

On 14 October 2022, a 12-year-old French girl disappeared on her way home and was found lifeless in Paris’s 19th district. According to the press report, Lola, an innocent, blond-haired student described as a “nice girl,” was folded in a plastic trunk with her hands and arms tied, several scars and enigmatic signs of “0” and “1,” written on each foot. The autopsy revealed that asphyxiation and cervical compression were the leading cause of death, also suggesting the possibility of sexual abuse. The tragedy not only horrified French society but warmed up the prolonged debate on its migration because she was killed by an illegally overstaying Algerian woman. Now, her brutal death is employed as a pretext for far-right, anti-immigrant nationalist aims.

A repercussion of the tragedy from the far-right

On 20 October, albeit with Lola’s parents rejecting their daughter’s political exploitation, hundreds of people, including Éric Zemmour, a French far-right politician, gathered in Paris fastening placards with Lola’s picture and the slogan“Justice pour Lola.” Le Monde reported that Action Française, a French far-right monarch group, and Civitas, a fundamentalist Christian group, also participated in the protest. They began with singing La Marseillaise, followed by sensational yelling of “Death to paedophiles!” and “Remigration,” fiercely demanding the return of non-European immigrants.

Ethno-nationalistic momentum has not been limited within the demonstration. The right-wing nationalists’ assertion has also been ripping through social media. Since the tragedy, a French journalist Georges Jordito repeats the far-right ethno-nationalistic remarks on his Twitter, accusing Lola’s killing as: “Vos martyrs sont des délinquants multirécidivistes qui fuient la police, nos martyrs sont des petites filles de 12 ans.” (“Your martyrs are multi-recidivist delinquents who are running away from the policy, our martyrs are 12 year old little girls.”) Some other his Tweets also imply xenophobia, especially where he depicts French society as: “Marabouts, sortilèges, djins, enfants zhouris… la France s’enrichît de Nouvelles cultures, c’est formidable.” (“Marabouts, spells, djins, zhouris children… France is enriched by new cultures, it’s amazing.”).

The upheaval of French politics

In addition to the Internet realm, French politics has also been in a disturbance. Shortly after Lola’s death, political opponents manipulated the incident to their advantage. Éric Zemmour, a French far-right politician, is now eager to take the floors back for his reactionary nationalist policy as his failure in the presidential bid had cast a shadow on his political presence. Just a month before the murder, Zemmour dreamed up a neologism of ‘Franocide,’ saying: “The beating, the rape, the murder, the attack with a knife of a Frenchman or a Frenchwoman by an emigrant, is not a news item…No more a news item than the murder of a woman by her husband. It is a political fact that I will now call ‘franocide.’” Despite Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin’s preaches on decency to the far-right, Zemmour condemned the killing as such since she was sacrificed because she is French, in his opinion.

The suspect in this barbaric act should not have been in our country; what’s keeping you from finally putting a stop to this uncontrolled, clandestine immigration?

Marine Le Pen

At the National Assembly, Marine Le Pen, the former president of the National Rally, criticised the government’s incapacity of handling immigrants, articulating that: “The suspect in this barbaric act should not have been in our country; what’s keeping you from finally putting a stop to this uncontrolled, clandestine immigration?” It seems true that illegal immigrants have been a headache to France, and the efficacy of the ‘Obligation to leave France’ (OQTF: Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Français) has been doubted for years. The Société cited a State report, revealing that only 5.6% of OQFT was carried out last year, and the obligation has been fulfilled less and less as the years went by. Accordingly, it may be unarguable that the far-right parties have been accusing president Macron’s “lax” immigration policies by stressing the suspect’s illegal stay and her violation of OQTF, which had been imposed since this summer. Nevertheless, the political opponents legitimised their use of Lola’s death as a political weapon and denied political exploitation. Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Rally, even asserted: “it is not political exploitation, as they say, to affirm that Lola would still be alive if our immigration policy wasn’t so chaotic and out of control.”

However, as Raphaël Enthoven noted on his Twitter, it is dubious that the far-right would be so enthusiastic to fight against ‘franocide’ if the victim were a Black French or Muslim and the suspect a white French of Polish Catholic origin. His observation leads to another issue of racism.

The complexity of the schoolgirl’s death

The ongoing dispute is multi-dimensional. The persistent controversy is not only regarding migrants but also conterminous with France’s “colonial hangover,” deep-rooted racism and the historical sensitivity.

According to Thomas Chatterton Williams from the Atlantic, the usage of ‘franocide’ implies the assumption that: “any attack or crime perpetrated by a non-French migrant against a French person is inherently racist and racially predatory.” He also commented: “unstated but clearly intended is the corresponding understanding of Frenchness as synonymous with whiteness and foreignness as equivalent to nonwhiteness.” The term ‘Islamo-leftism’ is also often used by far-right parties to blame the left wing for downplaying the “danger” of Islamist extremism and showing excessive concern over issues of race and identity. These contentions regarding migrants, Islamists and race have been chronic in France and formed a social division. According to France 24, although sometimes disdained as a ‘woke culture’ influenced by American racial politics, the younger French generation has been enthusiastic about fighting against racism and facing the legacies of what the colonial empire had done for Africa and the Middle East. President Macron had expressed his concern that excessive focus on race and discrimination can widen the country’s split, shaking France’s foundation as a “united society.”

In addition to accounts on racism, in an interview with the BBC, Jean-Yves Camus shared that the suspect being Algerian even intensified the hostility toward the crime amongst the right-wing.

According to Camus, the French far-right parties stoutly disagreed with their leaving Algeria in 1962, and their relationships have been twisted since the end of colonial rule. He also surmised that the reaction would have been less intense if the suspect was from Morocco or Tunisia as those countries are more cooperative when their nationals are deported, unlike Algeria, which often rejects accepting their nationals that are sent back.

_{^{Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons, Alger in 1960.}}

A danger of slippery slope

Even before the tragedy, between 60-70% of French citizens believe immigration is out of control and that Islam and the republic are incompatible, as reported in the Financial Times. Additionally, the BBC referred to the French television survey, revealing that since Lola’s killing, almost 60% of people believe those illegally residing in France should be placed in administrative custody. Given the acceleration of nationalism, as Camus predicted, Marine Le Pen may prevail in the 2027 presidential election as the National Rally party is represented by a sizable group of MPs.

Even French citizens who are open to immigration answered that France needs to act. Needless to say, states should protect citizens and their interests and control them properly. However, we should also be aware that one specific incident can never be proven to be universal. As the report by Humanity in Action presented, there is an increasing need for foreign labour in the French economy. Although restricting other types of immigration, France has reached agreements with African countries, including Congo, Senegal, and Tunisia, to address labour shortages in high-end industries, which can suggest the possibility of an increase in migrants. Precisely because emotionally appealing statements have been reiterated throughout the country and Europe, we should step back and explore the full spectrum of viewpoints.

Header Image Credits: Marianne, 2022.