Threats from Muslim youths have forced a Paris suburban council to cancel a screening of the film Barbie, prompting an outcry and a criminal complaint by the government, reports The Times.
The incident in Noisy-le-Sec, in the heart of the ethnically mixed Seine-Saint-Denis département, has played into widespread anxiety about attempts by activist members of the country’s six million Muslim population to impose their traditions on French life.
The 2023 film, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, was to be shown as part of a council-organised free outdoor cinema for people in poor districts during the summer holidays.
Olivier Sarrabeyrouse, the mayor, said that he halted the screening on Saturday after about 15 youths objected to the film, threatened council workers, and moved to smash the equipment.
“They said the film promoted homosexuality and insulted the image of women,” the mayor said. Sarrabeyrouse, a communist party member, deplored the youths’ action but also accused right-wing politicians of exploiting the row.
He has filed a criminal complaint and rescheduled the film, which he said had been requested by residents. “There is no cultural no-go zone in Noisy-le-Sec,” he said.
Rachida Dati, the culture minister, a conservative who is also Muslim, said that she was reporting the incident to prosecutors. “Yet another serious attack depriving children and families of cultural activity,” she said. “For the past year, I have been taking firm measures against this new form of lawbreaking.”
Aurore Bergé, minister for gender equality, said that the incident was “not insignificant” because it comes in the context of what the government sees as a spreading campaign by hardline Muslims to influence social behaviour in districts with immigrant populations. France must be alert to “these attempts to infiltrate”, Bergé said. “They must be denounced systematically for what they are.”
Read more of this report from The Times.