A racist scandal erupts in France over the singer who is to open the 2024 Olympics
In four months, France will host the 2024 Olympics, and the French singer of Malian descent Aya Nakamura was supposed to be the headliner at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. She is considered one of the most popular French-speaking performers in the world, but it seems that her compatriots are very skeptical about the artist. In particular, 63% of the French voted against Nakamura's performance at the opening ceremony, arguing that her music "does not represent France."
The hype around the choice of the singer for the opening of the Olympics was first raised by far-right political forces, including the chairman of the French Senate and a member of the right-wing Republic party, Gerard Larcher. He criticized Nakamura's French language and the variety of slang expressions in her tracks. A racist scandal erupted. The New York Times wrote about it.
In general, the choice of the singer sparked a heated discussion on issues of race, language and immigration policy.
The source says about the singer: "Raised in the suburbs of Paris, she mixes French lyrics with Arabic, English, and West African dialects such as Bamana, her parents' Malian language, in songs that intertwine R&B, Afropop sound and rhythms."
Aya Nakamura
Source: instagram.com/ayanakamura_officiel
Despite his enormous popularity at home and abroad, in particular thanks to his mega-hit Djadja, many French people expressed the opinion that Nakamura's work "does not give an idea of France." The criticism escalated into outright hate, and the star began to receive a huge number of racist insults.
The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, based in France, filed a complaint against the protesters, and the Paris prosecutor's office launched an investigation.
It is worth noting that the organizers of the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony have not yet confirmed the singer's participation in the program. She was previously expected to perform one of the hits of the legendary Edith Piaf. However, the Olympic Organizing Committee has already responded to the scandal by expressing support for Nakamura: "We are shocked by the racism against the most listened to French artist in the world."
A high-profile racist scandal erupts in France over singer Ai Nakamura
Source: instagram.com/ayanakamura_officiel
The New York Times article suggested that the outpouring of criticism against the artist, who may sing at the opening ceremony, "reflects the division of France."
We would like to add that Aya Nakamura is a 28-year-old singer from Bamako, Mali. As a child, she emigrated to France with her parents. In 2016, the singer signed a contract with Rec.118, a label that belongs to the production company Warner Music France. On August 25, 2017, she released her debut album Journal intime, led by her first platinum hit Comportement.
As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Valentina Rodionenko, the senior coach of the Russian gymnastics team, called the athletes who agree to perform at the 2024 Olympics in a neutral status traitors. She categorically opposed even discussions of the possibility of Russian representatives traveling to Paris in the summer.
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