Dieudonné M'bala M'bala
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Dieudonné M'bala M'bala (; born 11 February 1966), generally known by his stage name Dieudo, is a French comedian, actor and political activist. He has been convicted for hate speech, advocating terrorism, and slander in Belgium, France and Switzerland. Dieudonné initially achieved success working with comedian Élie Semoun, humorously exploiting racial stereotypes. He was a candidate in the 1997 and 2001 legislative elections in Dreux against the National Front. In 2003, Dieudonné performed a sketch on a TV show about an
Israeli settler Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
whom he depicted as a
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
. Some critics argued that he had "crossed the limits of
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
" and several organizations sued him for incitement to racial hatred. Dieudonné refused to apologize and denounced
Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
. In 2007, Dieudonné approached
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...
, leader of the National Front political party that he had fought earlier, and the men became political allies and friends.
Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...
Robert Faurisson appeared in one of his shows in 2008. Dieudonné described Holocaust remembrance as "memorial pornography". Dieudonné has been convicted in court eight times on antisemitism charges. Dieudonné subsequently found himself regularly banned from mainstream media, and many of his shows were cancelled by local authorities. Active on the internet and in his Paris theater, Dieudonné has continued to have a following. His quenelle signature gesture became notorious in 2013, particularly after
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...
used the gesture during a match in December 2013. In 2013, after Dieudonné was recorded during a performance mocking a Jewish journalist, suggesting it was a pity that he was not sent to the
gas chambers A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History ...
, Interior Minister
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
stated that Dieudonné was "no longer a comedian" but was rather an "anti-Semite and racist" and that he would seek to ban all Dieudonné's public gatherings as a public safety risk. His shows have been banned in several French cities. On 20 January 2017, the court of appeal of Liège confirmed a first instance sentence of two months of jail time and a €9,000 fine for Dieudonné's anti-Semitic remarks in a performance in
Herstal Herstal (; wa, Hesta), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal, is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herstal is included in the "Greater Liège" agglomeration, which c ...
on 14 March 2012. Dieudonné has also been known to associate with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran from 2005 to 2013, who has himself been accused of describing the Holocaust as a myth. On 25 February 2015, Ahmadinejad tweeted "Visiting an old friend, a great artist." The tweet included photographs of himself and Dieudonné, arms around each other, smiling. The two also met in 2009 during a visit by Dieudonné to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
where they reportedly discussed their shared anti-Zionist views.


Personal life

Dieudonné M'bala M'bala was born in
Fontenay-aux-Roses Fontenay-aux-Roses () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. In 1880 a girls school École Normale Supérieure was opened in the town. It was one of the most prestigious of Paris and ...
, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He is the son of a retired sociologist from Brittany, who is also a painter and exhibits under the name Josiane Grué, and an accountant from Ekoudendi,
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
. His parents divorced when he was one year old, and he was brought up by his mother. He attended Catholic school, though his mother was a
New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
. Dieudonné lives with Noémie Montagne, his producer, and has five children with her.


Performing career

Dieudonné began writing and practicing routines with his childhood friend, Jewish comedian and actor Élie Semoun. They formed a comedic duo, Élie et Dieudonné (Élie and Dieudonné), and performed in local cafés and bars while Dieudonné worked as a salesman, selling cars, telephones, and photocopy machines. In 1992, a Paris comedian spotted them and helped them stage their first professional show. In the 1990s, they appeared on stage and on television together as "Élie et Dieudonné". In 1997 they split and each went on to a solo theater career. In 1998, they reunited in a screen comedy, ''Le Clone'', which was a failure critically and financially. From the mid-1990s Dieudonné appeared in several French film comedies, primarily in supporting roles. His most successful screen appearance to date was in Alain Chabat's box-office hit '' Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra'' in 2002; in 2004 he appeared in Maurice Barthélémy's
box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
''Casablanca Driver''. Dieudonné's successful one-man shows include ''Pardon Judas'' (2000), ''Le divorce de Patrick'' (2003), and ''1905'' (2005). Other one-man shows were ''Mes Excuses'' (2004), ''Dépôt de bilan'' (2006) and ''J'ai fait l'con'' (2008), all understood as attacks on political and social opponents and defences of his own positions. Anti-Semitic statements made within and around these productions led to intense controversy and numerous lawsuits. Following the 2005 civil unrest in France, Dieudonné also penned a play called ''Émeutes en banlieue'' (Riots in the Suburbs, February 2006). In 2009, surrounded by scandals (see below, "Political activities"), Dieudonné launched two one-man shows: ''Liberté d’expression'' (''Freedom of expression'') and ''Sandrine''. While the latter was a follow-up to ''Le divorce de Patrick'', the former was conceived as a series of itinerant "conferences" on "
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
". Started on 18 June 2010 in his theater, Dieudonné's most recent show to date, ''Mahmoud'' (standing for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) has an openly antisemitic tone, caricaturing Jews, slavery and "official" versions of history. Dieudonné's production company first acted under the name Bonnie Productions and now under the name Les productions de la Plume. In 2012, Dieudonné made his directorial debut in a film called ''L'Antisémite'' (''The Anti-Semite''), in which he starred as a violent and alcoholic character who dresses as a Nazi officer at a party, and also features the Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson, as well as imagery that mocks Auschwitz concentration camp prisoners. The movie, which was produced by the Iranian Documentary and Experimental Film Center, is also known by the title "Yahod Setiz". Its scheduled screening at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
's Marché du Film (the parallel film market event) was canceled. The film is to be commercialized on the internet and sold to subscribers of Dieudonné's activities.


Théâtre de la Main d'Or

Dieudonné is the lease holder of the ''Théâtre de la Main d'Or'' in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, which is used for both stand-up comedy and political events by himself and friends.


Political activities and views


The quenelle gesture

The quenelle, invented by Dieudonné, is a gesture consisting of a downward straight arm touched at the shoulder by the opposite hand. In French, ''quenelle'' normally refers to a type of dumpling. Images of the quenelle were widely shared in 2013, with many individuals posing while performing the quenelle in photos posted to the internet. Dieudonné claims that the gesture is an anti-establishment protest. Officially, French authorities have said the gesture is too vague to take any action against Dieudonné. In December 2013, the French Minister for Sport Valérie Fourneyron publicly criticised the footballer
Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...
for using the gesture as a goal celebration in an
English Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
match. French international and NBA
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player
Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...
also came under fire during the same time period for his use of the gesture. On 30 December 2013, Parker apologized for making the gesture, saying that the photograph had been taken three years earlier and that he had been unaware at the time that it had any anti-Semitic connotation. On 31 December 2013, Dieudonné released a 15-minute video proposing that "2014 will be the year of the quenelle!". In it, Dieudonné attacks "bankers" and "slavers", so as not to say "Jews" and end up in a lawsuit, and calls upon his followers, "quenelleurs"—those who listen and follow him—towards a hatred of Jews. "Antisemite? I'm not of that opinion," he says in the video. "I'm not saying I'd never be one... I leave myself open to that possibility, but for the moment, no." Later, he added, "I don't have to choose between the Jews and the Nazis." An official January 2014 circular issued by Interior Minister
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
besides laying out a legal justification for banning antisemitic performances by Dieudonné also specifically linked the quenelle gesture to anti-Semitism and extremism.


Beginnings

Dieudonné was initially active on the anti-racist left. In the 1997 French legislative election, he worked with his party, "Les Utopistes", in Dreux against National Front candidate
Marie-France Stirbois Marie-France Stirbois (born Marie-France Charles on 11 November 1944 in Paris, died 17 April 2006 in Nice of cancer) was a French National Front politician, representing Dreux from 1989 to 1993, and a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 ...
and received 8 percent of the vote. Verbally and in demonstrations, he also supported migrants without a residence permit (the so-called "sans papiers") and the Palestinians.


2002–2006

Since 2002, Dieudonné has attracted attention by making increasingly polemical statements. In an interview for the magazine ''
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
Capitale'' in January 2002, he described "the
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s" as "a sect, a fraud, which is the worst of all, because it was the first" and said he preferred "the charisma of
bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated a ...
to that of Bush". He subsequently tried to run for president in the 2002 presidential election, but failed to get in the race. On 1 December 2003, he appeared live on a television show disguised as a parody of an Israeli settler wearing military fatigues and a
Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
(Orthodox) Jewish hat. The sketch climaxed with a
Hitler salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. T ...
, after which Dieudonné shouts out a word. According to Dieudonné, he shouted "Israël" in the persona of the Haredi. In the following days, some news agencies stated that he shouted "Isra – Heil" or "Heil Israel". He was cleared of charges of antisemitism in a Paris court after the judge said this was not an attack against Jews in general but against a type of person "distinguished by their political views". At the
2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...
, Dieudonné was a candidate for the extreme left-wing party "Euro-Palestine", but left a few months after the election because of disagreements with its leaders. Dieudonné is the director of the Les Ogres website, where he makes plain his denial of the historical version of the
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
events. Following this television appearance, a Dieudonné show in Lyon (at La Bourse du Travail) on 5 February 2004 was picketed and a bottle containing a corrosive product was thrown in the venue, injuring a spectator. On 11 November, Dieudonné organized a debate with four rabbis of Naturei Karta in the Théâtre de la Main d'Or in Paris. On 16 February 2005, he declared during a press conference in
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
that the Central Council of French Jews CRIF (''Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France'') was a "mafia" that had "total control over French policy exercise", called the commemoration of the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
"memorial pornography" ("''pornographie mémorielle''"), and claimed that the "Zionists of the
Centre national de la cinématographie Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...
," which "control French cinema" prevented him from making a film about the
slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
.''Dieudonné, star de la semaine judiciaire''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
, 26 June 2008
Dieudonné was also trying to appear as a spokesman for French blacks, but, after some initial sympathy, from the novelist
Calixthe Beyala Calixthe Beyala (born 1961) is a Cameroonian-French writer who writes in French. Biography A Cameroonian author and member of the Eton people, Calixthe Beyala was born in Sa'a to Cameroonian parents. Her aunt and grandmother were particula ...
, the journalists Antoine Garnier and Claudy Siar, as well as the founding members of the ''Conseil représentatif des associations noires'' (CRAN), he increasingly met with their rejection. Throughout 2005 and 2006, Dieudonné was often in the company of senior National Front members
Bruno Gollnisch Bruno Gollnisch (; born 28 January 1950) is a French academic and politician, a member of the National Front (France), National Front (FN) History of far-right movements in France, far-right party. He was a member of the Member of the European ...
, Frédéric Chatillon,''Châtillon, Le GUD des autres''
Bakchich.info, 13 November 2006
and Marc George (also known as Marc Robert), the man who went on to conduct his electoral campaigns in 2007 and 2009. Dieudonné also frequently appeared together with the
conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
Thierry Meyssan Thierry Meyssan () is a French journalist, conspiracy theorist and political activist. He is the author of investigations into the extreme right-wing, particularly France's National Front militias, as well as into the Catholic church. Meyssa ...
and the former
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
and current right-wing radical
Alain Soral Alain Bonnet, known as Alain Soral (; born 2 October 1958), is a far-right Franco-Swiss ideologue, essayist, filmmaker and actor. Claiming to have been a member of the French Communist Party in the 1990s, Soral worked for the National Front ...
, a confidant of
Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...
and Jean-Marie Le Pen. Under the influence of Soral's writings and polemics, Dieudonné was acquainted with his militant antisemitism of French nationalist inspiration. In May 2006, he gave a lengthy interview to the far-right monthly ''Le Choc du mois''. Demonstrating shoulder to shoulder with
Islamists Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is c ...
, he also traveled at the end of August 2006 with Châtillon, Meyssan and Soral in
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, to meet MPs and fighters of the
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
. Some Jews reacted angrily to his comments on this tour. In April 2005, Dieudonné went to Auschwitz. In May 2006 he was involved in a fight with two teenage Jews in Paris, one of whom he sprayed with
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...
. Dieudonné claimed that the teenagers attacked him first; both parties pressed charges, but the lawsuits were not pursued. In France and abroad, Dieudonné became increasingly perceived as an extremist of a type until then uncommon in Europe: in the introduction to a March 2006 interview, '' The Sunday Independent'' of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
called him a "French
Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, h ...
... obsessed with Jews".John Lichfield
"French comic's growing anti-Semitism is no joke"
The Sunday Independent, 26 March 2006.


2007–2009

Dieudonné wanted to finally represent politically these ever-radicalized positions in the
2007 presidential election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...
, but for logistical reasons he could not maintain his candidacy, which was organized by Marc Robert (a.k.a. Marc George). The convicted
Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...
Serge Thion Serge Thion (25 April 1942 – 15 October 2017, Créteil) was a French sociologist. A former researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research, he was dismissed from his position at the center for Holocaust denial activities."His Hol ...
wrote for his campaign web site under the pseudonym "Serge Noith", as did also the longtime secretary of the Holocaust denier
Roger Garaudy Roger Garaudy (; 17 July 1913 – 13 June 2012) was a French philosopher, French resistance fighter and a communist author. He converted to Islam in 1982. In 1998, he was convicted and fined for Holocaust denial under French law for claiming that ...
, Maria Poumier. After the end of his candidacy, Dieudonné appeared several times publicly in the company of
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...
and traveled to Cameroon with Le Pen's wife Jany. However, officially, Dieudonné called for the election of anti-globalization militant
José Bové Joseph "José" Bové (born 11 June 1953) is a French farmer, politician and Syndicalism, syndicalist, member of the alter-globalization movement, and spokesman for Via Campesina. He was one of the twelve official candidates in the 2007 French pres ...
, despite Bové's asking Dieudonné not to do so. In July 2008, Jean-Marie Le Pen became godfather to Dieudonné's third child.
Philippe Laguérie Philippe Laguérie (born 30 September 1952 in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine) is a French Traditionalist Catholic priest. He was the first Superior General of the Institute of the Good Shepherd (french: Institut du Bon Pasteur), which upholds the Tridentin ...
, a
traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, Christian liturgy, liturgical forms, Catholic devotions, devotions, and presentations of Catholic Church, Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church befo ...
priest, officiated at the baptism, which was held in the Saint-Éloi congregation in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
. On 26 December 2008, at an event at the
Parc de la Villette The Parc de la Villette is the third-largest park in Paris, in area, located at the northeastern edge of the city in the 19th arrondissement. The park houses one of the largest concentrations of cultural venues in Paris, including the Cité de ...
in Paris, Dieudonné awarded the Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson an "insolent outcast" prize 'prix de l'infréquentabilité et de l'insolence'' The award was presented by one of Dieudonné's assistants, Jacky, dressed in a
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
uniform with a
yellow badge Yellow badges (or yellow patches), also referred to as Jewish badges (german: Judenstern, lit=Jew's star), are badges that Jews were ordered to wear at various times during the Middle Ages by some caliphates, at various times during the Medieva ...
. This caused a scandal and earned him his sixth court conviction. On 29 January 2009, he celebrated the 80th birthday of Faurisson in his theater, in the midst of a representative gathering of Holocaust deniers, right-wing radicals, and radical Shiites. Dieudonné and Faurisson further appeared together in a video making fun of the Holocaust and its commemoration. On 21 March 2009, Dieudonné announced that he would run for the
2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making th ...
in the
Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...
at the head of an "anti-communitarist and anti-Zionist" party. Other candidates on his party's electoral list were Alain Soral and the Holocaust denier and former member of Les Verts (the French Green Party) Ginette Skandrani (also known as Ginette Hess), while Thierry Meyssan and Afrocentrist Kémi Seba, founder of the "Tribu Ka", are members of the party but do not run. The campaign would be conducted again by Marc George. In spite of the association of Dieudonné's party with the
Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
''Centre Zahra'', whose president Yahia Gouasmi also runs on his list, his candidacy was supported by Fernand Le Rachinel, a former high-ranking executive of the National Front and official
printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...
of the party. In early May 2009, the French government studied the possibility of banning the party, but on 24 May, Justice minister
Rachida Dati Rachida Dati (; ar, رشيدة داتي, link=no; born 27 November 1965) is a French politician who served as Member of the European Parliament, representing Île-de-France. Prior to her election, she held the cabinet post of Keeper of the Sea ...
found there was no legal ground to do so. The ''Parti antisioniste'' finally scored 1.30% of the votes.


2010–2012

On 9 May 2012, police in Brussels, Belgium, stopped Dieudonné mid-performance after determining that his performance contravened local laws, and forced the cancellation of two more shows, but in November 2013, a Brussels justice found that the comedian was not using anti-Semitic slurs or
inciting racial hatred Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred is a crime under the laws of several countries. Australia In Australia, the Racial Hatred Act 1995 amends the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, inserting Part IIA – Offensive Behaviour Because of Race, Colour ...
during the show that was interrupted in May 2012. On 21 June, Dieudonné complained against the Brussels police. On 12 May 2012, event producer Evenko forced the cancellation of Dieudonné's shows in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on 14, 15, 16, and 17 May, citing "contractual conflicts". In late May 2012, a screening of Dieudonné's directorial debut, ''L’Antisémite'' (''The Anti-Semite''), was canceled at the Marché du Film, the market held at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
.


2013

Dieudonné released a song and dance called "Shoananas", performed to the tune of the 1985 children's video and song by
Annie Cordy Léonie Juliana, Baroness Cooreman (16 June 1928 – 4 September 2020), also known by her stage name Annie Cordy, was a Belgian actress and singer. She appeared in more than 50 films from 1954 and staged many memorable appearances at Bruno Coqu ...
"
Cho Ka Ka O "Cho Ka Ka O" or "Chaud cacao" ("Hot cocoa") is a song performed by Belgian singer Annie Cordy. The song was written by Vivien Vallay, Patrick Bousquet and Pierre Carrel. The song was released in France and Belgium in 1985. The song sold more than ...
" (Chaud Cacao or Hot Chocolate in English), which itself by today's standards might be considered racist. The term "Shoananas" is a
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsShoah The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ar ...
, the French and Hebrew word used to refer to the Holocaust, and
ananas ''Ananas'' is a plant genus in the family Bromeliaceae. It is native to South America. The genus contains ''Ananas comosus'', the pineapple. Species The genus ''Ananas'' includes only two species: Gallery File:Pineapple.plantation.jpg, Pinea ...
, the French word for
pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
. In December, while performing onstage, Dieudonné was recorded saying about prominent French Jewish radio journalist Patrick Cohen: "Me, you see, when I hear Patrick Cohen speak, I think to myself: ‘Gas chambers... too bad."’" Radio France, Cohen’s employer, announced on 20 December that it had alerted authorities that Dieudonné had engaged in "openly anti-Semitic speech", and various French anti-racism watchdog groups filed complaints. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced he would try to legally ban public performances by Dieudonné. Valls stated that Dieudonne was "no longer a comedian" but was rather an "anti-Semite and racist" who had run afoul of France's laws against incitement to racial hatred. "Despite a conviction for public defamation, hate speech and racial discrimination, Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala no longer seems to recognize any limits," Valls wrote. "Consequently, the interior minister has decided to thoroughly examine all legal options that would allow a ban on Dieudonné’s public gatherings, which no longer belong to the artistic domain, but rather amount to a public safety risk."


2014

On 6 January, France's interior minister
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
said that performances considered anti-Semitic may be banned by local officials. In support of this, Valls sent a three-page memo to all prefects of police in France on 6 January entitled, "The Struggle Against Racism and Antisemitism—demonstrations and public reaction—performances by Mr. Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala". With respect to freedom of speech in France and banning scheduled performances ahead of time, Valls wrote: "The struggle against racism and antisemitism is an essential concern of government and demands vigorous action." He takes note of the liberty of expression in France, but goes on to say that in exceptional circumstances, the police are invested with the power to prohibit an event if its intent is to prevent "a grave disturbance of public order" and cites the 1933 law supporting this. Within hours, Bordeaux became the first French city to ban Dieudonné when mayor
Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the coun ...
canceled a local appearance planned as part of a scheduled national tour, followed closely by Nantes, Tours, Orléans, Toulouse, Limoges, and Biarritz. The show in Switzerland was to go on as scheduled. On 10 January the Paris Prefect of Police prohibited Dieudonné from staging his next three upcoming shows at his Paris theatre. Some officials from both sides of the political spectrum have reservations about the legal validity of the Valls circular, and believe that cancellations could leave their cities liable for judgments of millions of euros in damages to Dieudonné if he sues and wins, as actually occurred in La Rochelle in 2012. According to a poll by IFOP for
Metronews Metro International is a Swedish global media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the ''Metro'' newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41 percent since launch of the first news ...
taken on 8–9 January 2014, 71% of the French population had a negative image of Dieudonné while 16% held a positive view. The voters of the National Front were the least negative, with 54% seeing him negatively and 32% positively. On 11 January 2014, he announced he would not perform his show ''Le Mur'' but would replace it with another one, ''Asus Zoa'', that he wrote in three nights and that would talk about "dance and music inspired by ancestral myths". In February, Dieudonné was banned from entry in the United Kingdom. In September, French authorities opened an investigation into Dieudonné on grounds that he condoned terrorism after mocking and showing footage of the killing of U.S. journalist James Foley. He described it as "access to civilisation", comparing it to many colonial crimes in Africa, which included killing and dismembering of victims and which were for decades justified by "civilizing Africa".


2015

On 10 January 2015, following the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting, the
Porte de Vincennes siege On 9 January 2015, Amedy Coulibaly, armed with a submachine gun, an assault rifle, and two Tokarev pistols, entered and attacked a Hypercacher kosher supermarket in Porte de Vincennes in Paris, France. There, Coulibaly murdered four Jewish h ...
of a kosher supermarket, and the 1,500,000-strong " march against hatred" in Paris, Dieudonné wrote on Facebook "As far as I am concerned, I feel I am Charlie Coulibaly." In this way he mixed the popular slogan "
Je suis Charlie "'" (, ) is a slogan and logo created by French art director Joachim Roncin and adopted by supporters of freedom of speech and freedom of the press after the 7 January 2015 shooting in which twelve people were killed at the offices of the Fr ...
", used to support the journalists killed at the ''
Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...
'' magazine, with a reference to
Amedy Coulibaly Amedy Coulibaly (; 27 February 1982 – 9 January 2015) was a Malian-French man who was the prime suspect in the Montrouge shooting, in which municipal police officer Clarissa Jean-Philippe was shot and killed, and was the hostage-taker and gu ...
who was responsible for the hostage-taking at the kosher supermarket which included the killing of four Jews. Likening his treatment to that of "Public Enemy No. 1," on 11 January Dieudonné complained about it in an open letter to the Minister of the Interior,
Bernard Cazeneuve Bernard Guy Georges Cazeneuve (; born 2 June 1963) is a French politician and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 December 2016 to 15 May 2017. A member of the Socialist Party, he represented Manche’s 5th constituency in the ...
. On 13 January, Dieudonné was arrested in Paris, accused of publicly supporting terrorism, based on his earlier Facebook comments where he appeared to support the kosher supermarket gunman Amedy Coulibaly.


2016

According to the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
's report by Benjamin Shingler, dated 11 May 2016, Dieudonné M'bala M'bala was refused entry at the Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport by
Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...
on the grounds of prior criminal convictions and forced to return home. He had been scheduled to perform ten shows in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
starting Wednesday night, 11 May 2016.


2020

In 2020, Dieudonné was banned from
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
,
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
and
TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...
.


2022

One of his songs, a
Nightcore A nightcore edit is a version of a track that increases the pitch and speeds up its source material by approximately 35%. This gives an effect almost identical to playing a 33⅓-RPM vinyl record at 45 RPM. This 35% increase in RPM causes the ...
version of ''Petit Poney'', went viral on social media, released by 88century.


Court actions

*On 14 June 2006, Dieudonné was sentenced to a penalty of €4,500 for defamation after having called a prominent Jewish television presenter a "secret donor of the child-murdering Israeli army". *On 15 November 2007, an appellate court sentenced him to a €5,000 fine because he had characterized "the Jews" as "slave traders" after being attacked in le Théâtre de la Main d'Or. *On 26 June 2008, he was sentenced in the highest judicial instance to a €7,000 fine for his characterization of Holocaust commemorations as "memorial pornography". *On 27 February 2009, he was ordered to pay
CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...
$75,000 in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
to singer and actor
Patrick Bruel Patrick Benguigui (; born 14 May 1959), better known by his stage name Patrick Bruel (), is a French singer-songwriter, actor and professional poker player. Biography Early life Patrick is the son of Pierre Benguigui and Augusta Kammoun, d ...
for defamatory statements. He had called Bruel a "liar" and an "Israeli soldier". *On 26 March 2009, Dieudonné was fined €1,000 and ordered to pay €2,000 in damages for having defamed Elisabeth Schemla, a Jewish journalist who ran the now-defunct Proche-Orient.info website. He declared on 31 May 2005 that the website wanted to "eradicate Dieudonné from the audiovisual landscape" and had said of him that "he's an anti-Semite, he's the son of Hitler, he will exterminate everyone". *On 27 October 2009, he was sentenced to a fine of €10,000 for "public insult of people of Jewish faith or origin" related to his show with Robert Faurisson. Dieudonné appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which rejected his case on 10 November 2015. *On 8 June 2010, he was sentenced to a fine of €10,000 for
defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
towards the
International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism—or Ligue internationale contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme (LICRA) in French—was established in 1927, and is opposed to intolerance, xenophobia and exclusion. In 1927, French journ ...
, which he had called "a
mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
-like association that organizes censorship". *On 10 October 2012, he was fined €887,135 for tax evasion. According to the French revenue service, Dieudonné failed to pay part of his taxes from 1997 to 2009. *On 12 February 2014, he was ordered by a court to withdraw two clips from a video posted on YouTube on 31 December 2013 on the grounds of incitement to ethnic or racial hatred, and denial of crimes against humanity. *On 25 November 2015, a court in Liège, Belgium, sentenced him to two months in jail and a €9,000 fine for "defamatory, antisemitic, negationist and revisionist" talk during a show in
Herstal Herstal (; wa, Hesta), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal, is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herstal is included in the "Greater Liège" agglomeration, which c ...
on 14 March 2012. *On 14 April 2016, the
Court of Appeal of Paris The Court of Appeal of Paris (french: Cour d'appel de Paris) is the largest appeals court in France in terms of the number of cases brought before it. Its jurisdiction covers the departments of Paris, Essonne, Yonne, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint- ...
upheld a 19 March 2015 conviction of inciting racial hatred. *In July 2021 he stood trial in Switzerland for Holocaust denial during shows in Geneva and Nyon in 2019. He denied the charges, but was found guilty and fined.


Publications

* ''Lettres d'insulte'', illustrations by Tignous, ''Le Cherche-midi,'' 2002, () * ''Peut-on tout dire?'', Interviews conducted by Philippe Gavi,
Robert Ménard Robert Ménard (born 6 July 1953) is a French far-right politician, currently serving as Mayor of Béziers. Formerly a journalist, he was a co-founder of the Paris-based international non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders, act ...
and
Emmanuelle Ménard Emmanuelle Ménard (née Duverger, 15 August 1968) is a French journalist and politician who has represented the 6th constituency of Hérault in the National Assembly since 2017. Career International Federation for Human Rights A native of Li ...
, in parallel with Bruno Gaccio, Editions Mordicus, 2010, ()


Bibliography

Books * Anne-Sophie Mercier, ''La vérité sur Dieudonné'', Plon, 2005; reissued in 2009 as ''Dieudonné démasqué'', Seuil. * Olivier Mukuna, ''Dieudonné. Entretien à cœur ouvert'', Éditions EPO, 2004 Articles * Jürg Altwegg, ''Die große Show der Auschwitz-Lügner als Duett eines Komikers mit dem Geschichtsfälscher Robert Faurisson'',
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
6 January 2009, p. 36 * Agathe André, ''Mon réveillon chez les Faurissons''.
Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...
n° 864, 7 January 2009, p. 2


References


External links


Official Dieudonné website
(in French) {{Authority control 1966 births 21st-century French criminals Living people People from Fontenay-aux-Roses French comedians French stand-up comedians French humorists French people of Cameroonian descent French Holocaust deniers Anti-Zionism in France French people of Breton descent French male writers People convicted of racial hatred offences Censorship in the arts Antisemitism in France Stand-up comedy controversies Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Religious controversies in stand-up comedy