Three RN deputies from Oise registered in a private group with racist messages

The newspaper The Days has just published a investigation on a private Facebook group where are regularly posted racist remarks assumed. However, on this group called “* National Rally * (direction 2027!)” and with 6,500 members, journalists noted the presence of 15 deputies from the National Rally. Three of them are deputies from Oise: Alexandre Sabatou, Philippe Ballard and Claire Marais-Beuil.

According to The Dayswe can find messages like “Do hunters like to kill? Let them go hunting in the cities!“. Or even “Do you call that a human being? Even my dog ​​behaves better. These black people are really harmful», in reaction to the photo of a man sitting on a train with his legs stretched out on a seat.

A group reported to the prosecutor by… an LFI deputy

After these revelations, and while most of the deputies have left this group since the start of the investigation, LFI deputy Thomas Portes announced that he would contact the prosecutor. “This evening I am seizing the Paris Public Prosecutor under Article 40 for calling for murder, provoking racial hatred and racist insults.» This article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires that the authorities refer the matter to the Public Prosecutor’s Office as soon as they become aware of a crime or misdemeanor.

The investigation shows that RN deputies sometimes shared their political news within this group. But they never seem to have reacted to these racist comments, nor to the sometimes explicit calls for murder. Letting them proliferate without constraint.

The “great stupidity” of Claire Marais-Beuil and the “it’s not me” of the other two

The three deputies were contacted individually to explain their presence in this group and their lack of reaction. Philippe Ballard blamed his community manager, whom he shares with Alexandre Sabatou. “It’s not mehe said. It’s generational. I’m 64 years old, I won’t be able to publish a post, I don’t even know how it works.» He claims to have never heard of the other content in this Facebook group and to have asked that all his publications be removed.

As for reporting this behavior to the courts: “Does this fall under the law? This is the problem with social media. I remember hearing the head of TikTok, he really doesn’t care.» Well indeed, it falls under the law. The service-public.fr website clearly states that “Anyone who publishes illegal content on the internet may be held criminally liable.“. Which also includes a simple comment.

Alexandre Sabatou and Claire Marais-Beuil have not yet responded to us but did so with France 3 Picardie and Les Jours. Claire Marais-Beuil, former municipal councilor of Beauvais, regional councilor and deputy for the 1st constituency of Oise says that she was not careful, that she joined the group in relation to its name in connection with its political party. She nevertheless recognizes “his great stupidity and stupidity”, then adds “I am completely responsible“. Alexandre Sabatou is on the same line of defense as Philippe Ballard.

Among the other deputies to have been noticed in this group, we find two elected officials in Hauts-de-France: Guillaume Florquin (North) and Matthias Renault (Somme).

The complete list of RN deputies seen on this private group