The National Rally continues to express its opposition to the project of having Aya Nakamura perform at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. “When one has been convicted of domestic violence, one cannot represent France,” Jordan Bardella said on Wednesday.
The R’n’B-pop star Aya Nakamura and her ex-partner, Vladimir Boudnikoff, were each fined 10,000 and 5,000 euros on February 23 for domestic violence dating back to August 2022 by the Criminal Court of Bobigny. Aya Nakamura did not appeal.
Le Pen criticizes “an additional provocation” by Macron
The name of the singer is being mentioned repeatedly to participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympics, particularly to perform a song by Edith Piaf, much to the disapproval of the far-right and ultra-right, who criticize this idea. “It’s not a good symbol, honestly, it’s another provocation by Emmanuel Macron who must wake up every morning saying ‘How can I humiliate the French people today?’,” Marine Le Pen stated last week on France Inter.
Jordan Bardella, the lead candidate in the European elections, expressed on Wednesday on France 5 that, “when one has been convicted of domestic violence, one cannot represent France in a sporting event that requires unity, appeasement, and gathering,” emphasizing that it was his “personal conviction.”
“I think that, considering the lives of the French people, we could have chosen a more consensual artist,” added the head of the National Rally, referring to an Odoxa survey conducted two weeks ago in which only 35% of respondents considered the singer’s participation in the Olympics a “good idea” (a “bad idea” for 63%), even though 64% of those surveyed recognized her as a “popular” artist.
An international star
The most listened to French-speaking singer in the world, the Franco-Malian star born in Bamako 28 years ago and raised in Aulnay-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, achieved global success with her hit “Djadja” in 2018. Aya Nakamura, who released her fourth album DNK last year, has since been among the elite. She delivered an interactive show in Fortnite at the end of 2022, a collaboration typically reserved for global megastars like American rapper Travis Scott or Brazilian football star Neymar.
