The accusation of Karim Benzema by Gérald Darmanin is “a diversion” for Marine Le Pen, who however accused the former French international on Friday of being “complacent with Islamist fundamentalism”.
“The accusation of Mr. Benzema, who no longer even lives in France, on the part of the Minister of the Interior, is a diversion while we are faced with major problems,” declared the leader of the Rassemblement deputies national on RMC.
“He criticizes Mr. Benzema for being close to the Muslim Brotherhood. But I have never heard Mr. Darmanin ask for a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood because before criticizing someone for sharing an ideology, it is still necessary to express on this ideology”, she added, calling for “a law to fight against Islamist ideologies”.
Controversy after Benzema’s tweet
At the same time, Marine Le Pen in turn accused the football star of having “obviously a complacency for the most radical Islamism that some could call Islamist fundamentalism”. “It’s obvious,” she insisted, without supporting her remarks.
Gérald Darmanin accused the former Real Madrid striker of being “in notorious links with the Muslim Brotherhood”, an Islamist organization born in Egypt where it is today considered “terrorist”. This accusation came after the publication on spare neither women nor children.
Some criticized the soccer star for not expressing compassion for Israelis who were victims of the large-scale atrocities and killings committed by the Islamist movement on October 7. The player, who has been playing in Saudi Arabia since this season, defended himself against these accusations via his lawyer. “Praying on October 15 for civilian populations under bombs which spare neither women nor children obviously does not constitute ‘propaganda for Hamas’, nor ‘complicity in terrorism nor acts of collaboration'”, maintained Mr. Hugues Vigier .
Gérald Darmanin affirmed Thursday evening that he would withdraw his comments if the 2022 Ballon d’or “tweeted” to “also cry” the assassination of Dominique Bernard, the professor from Arras (Pas-de-Calais).