Five facts about French-Congolese MP whose speech led to ‘return to Africa’ jibe

A French member of Parliament became the subject of a racist jibe by a fellow lawmaker, causing the House to be temporarily suspended amid protestations.

The offending MP, Gregoire de Fournas of the National Rally party’s use of the term “return to Africa,” phrase during a submission on migration triggered outrage in the polity and on social media.

It turns out that the MP who was speaking when the remark was made is a Black, which in turn triggered racist connotations.

Below are five facts about the Black MP

1. His name is Carlos Martens Bilongo, born on December 31, 1990 in Paris.

2. He is the MP for Val-d’Oise (8th district).

3. He is 31-year-old from a Congolese background, according to a TRT report.

4. Bilongo is member of left-wing France Insoumise party

5. He was elected on 19 June,2022 and took office two days later. He is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and also the Committee for the evaluation and control of public policies.

Background:

Bilongo was on his feet making a submission on immigration when a colleague in the far-right National Rally party, Gregoire de Fournas, yelled at him from across the benches.

A visibly shocked stopped his speech whiles colleagues on his side of the House vehemently protested at the phrase.

Subsequently, a leader of the Parliament demanded which particular MP had uttered the phrase, which triggered shouting by the far-right bloc.

The session was temporarily suspended.

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Speaking outside Parliament after the incident, Bilongo expressed grave reservations at the comment and described it as a “shame,” and something he never in his life thought would be raised in Parliament.