The song is called “PLB,” a French acronym for “hang the whites,” and it has launched a bitter public debate about “anti-white racism” in France, reports The Washington Post.
Nick Conrad, a previously obscure rapper who describes himself as “a black artist, Parisian, proud and sophisticated,” produced a provocative music video describing the killing of white babies in schools that was taken down from YouTube on Wednesday amid intense public outcry.
The artist has received criticism from across France’s political spectrum and may soon face charges under the country’s strict hate speech regulations.
On Thursday, a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor confirmed to The Washington Post that a formal investigation has been launched, specifically with regard to whether Conrad’s video constitutes an incitement to a crime.
“I condemn without reservation these abject remarks and ignominious attacks,” Gérard Collomb, France’s interior minister, wrote in a statement posted on Twitter.
Activists, however, fear the focus on hate speech and “anti-white” racism distracts from the very real racism against blacks and immigrants French society tries to ignore.
“If you ask me, does anti-white racism exist? I can say yes, and this is very good example of it. However, if you ask me is there anti-white discrimination in France? The answer in no,” said Louis-Georges Tin, a representative of black organizations in France. “I don’t think there is anyone in France who didn’t find a job or an apartment because he or she is white.”
The real problem with the conversation that has ensued, Tin said, is false equivalence. “Many conservative people speak of anti-white racism just to put anti-white and anti-black racism on the same level and on the same stage, which is impossible.”