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French appeal court upholds ban on 'antisemitic' comic Dieudonné's show French appeal court upholds ban on 'antisemitic' comic Dieudonné's show
(about 2 hours later)
A top French court has upheld a ban on the opening night show of Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, a comedian who is known by his stage name Dieudonné and whom the government accuses of insulting the memory of Holocaust victims, according to the text of its ruling. The on-off-on-off row over shows by the controversial French comedian Dieudonné M'Bala M'Bala ended with a decision by the country's top judges to uphold a ban on the first performance of his 22-date national tour just hours before he was to go on stage on Thursday evening.
Critics say the comic's trademark straight-arm gesture is a Nazi salute in reverse. Dieudonné, 46, says it is anti-Zionist and anti-establishment, but not antisemitic. He has been repeatedly fined for hate speech. Earlier in the day a judge in Nantes had supported the star's appeal against the forced cancellation of the event by the local authorities, allowing the show to go on.
The French interior minister, Manuel Valls, had been leading the effort to stop the comedian's national tour but a lower court overturned the ban earlier on Thursday. Valls immediately appealed against the ruling. However, France's interior minister immediately appealed to the Conseil d'État (Council of State), the highest administrative authority in the country, which upheld the ban on the grounds that there was a risk to public order.
Judges in the Council of State, France's highest administrative court, decided on Thursday to maintain the ban on the comedian performing the first night of his national tour in the western city of Nantes, despite a challenge by his lawyers saying his freedom of expression had been breached. Judge Bernard Stim said the decision had taken into account "the reality and the seriousness of the risk of public order problems".
Outside the Zénith hall, near the town of Nantes, where Dieudonné was to kick off his tour on Thursday, fans turned up – on the advice of the comedian – to sing La Marseillaise in support of "freedom of expression". They also chanted "Valls resign" and "Dieudonné, Dieudonné".
The show was reportedly a sell-out with all 6,000 tickets, costing up to €43 (£35), sold.
At the beginning of the week, Valls sent out a circular to local authorities suggesting they were within their rights to cancel Dieudonné's planned appearances in their towns on the grounds of public order.
Valls has said that in mocking the Holocaust and painting a stereotypical portrait of Jews, the performer is no longer artistic or comic but the "mechanics of hate". The minister's missive immediately sparked a legal and political row over free speech and censorship.
Dieudonné has several convictions for inciting racial hatred through antisemitic jokes and comments, and claims to have invented the "quenelle", a gesture that has been described as an inverted Nazi salute.
Most people in Britain had never heard of it until the French footballer Nicolas Anelka performed a "quenelle" after scoring a goal for his team, West Bromwich Albion, two weeks ago.
Dieudonné, who admits to being "anti-Zionist", has always argued the gesture is anti-establishment, but dozens of pictures have emerged of members of the public doing the "quenelle" outside synagogues, Holocaust memorials and Jewish schools.
Valls said of the Conseil's decision: "We cannot tolerate anti-semitism, historical revisionism and racism and the highest juridiction in our country has agreed. It's a victory for the republic."
However, the bans on Dieudonné performances have been criticised by civil liberties groups which believe it will rally support for "those who consider themselves oppressed".
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