The French actor Omar Syfamous for his role in Untouchables (Untouchable) and for starring in the French series Lupine (Netflix), assures that “there are cases in which it is difficult to be black in France” and that what happened to the singer Aya Nakamura and the Olympic Games are an example of this.
In a long interview published in the newspaper Le Parisian this Sunday, in which Sy – the son of a Mauritanian and Senegalese couple – answered questions from readers on the occasion of the publication of the book he has published with the journalist Elsa Vigoureux (Viens, on se parle), the actor assured that he has experienced numerous situations of discrimination.
The 46-year-old actor, despite everything, specified that the question about whether it is difficult to be black today in France is a question to which it is “dangerous” to answer with “generalities.” “The answer requires development and nuance. Of course there are cases where it is difficult to be black in France. It is nothing new and unfortunately it continues to happen. It can occur at any time in life. I will give a recent example: Governess Nakamura”, he indicated.
Sy was thus referring to the criticism – in many cases racist and xenophobic – that the Franco-Malian singer and the Paris 2024 organization have received, especially from the extreme right, given the possibility that Nakamura is one of the stars of the opening ceremony for this summer’s Games.
“He was successful in life, he transcended his social level and found himself in a situation in which he was a victim of racism,” the actor argued about Nakamura, a star considered the most listened to current French-speaking singer in the world.
Regarding himself, he stated that he has “many examples” and that all he needs to do is go back to the hatred received this week, following another interview broadcast on Thursday on the network TMC, where he called on France to “wake up” against the rise of the extreme right. “I have woken up some people who are starting to vomit again… But everything is fine,” she assured, downplaying it.
Although he did not comment in detail on current French politics, Sy, when asked about how the polls give victory to the extreme right in France for the European elections in June, assured that although his “optimism is a little shaken at the moment,” He remains “optimistic.”
He also stated that he is not worried that his positions will harm his acting career. In Viens, on se parle (“Come, let’s talk”), from the Albin Michel publishing house, Sy reviews his career and his way of seeing the profession, but also his childhood in the suburbs of Paris.
Source: EFE
