Rim-Sarah Alouane, Ph.D.
@rimsarah.com
Ph.D. in Public Law | Researcher in Constitutional Law, Discrimination, Human Rights, Religious Freedom & Civil Liberties in France, Europe, & North America | Opinions my own | Team Chocolatine.
Article in French: www.lemonde.fr/societe/arti...
Arno Klarsfeld visé par une procédure disciplinaire du Conseil d’Etat pour ses propos sur les « grandes rafles » d’étrangers
L’ancien avocat encourt une sanction qui peut aller de l’avertissement jusqu’à la radiation, en passant par le blâme et la suspension temporaire du Conseil d’Etat, où il siège depuis 2010.
www.lemonde.fr
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Article in French: www.lemonde.fr/societe/arti...
They begin with language that renders certain lives less worthy of protection , and with elites willing to say, calmly and publicly, that injustice and the violation of the rule of law is acceptable.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
They begin with language that renders certain lives less worthy of protection , and with elites willing to say, calmly and publicly, that injustice and the violation of the rule of law is acceptable.
Never forget that history teaches that large-scale rights violations rarely begin with explicit calls for oppression.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Never forget that history teaches that large-scale rights violations rarely begin with explicit calls for oppression.
When such a figure legitimizes discriminatory harm, the boundary between rule of law and authoritarian logic erodes and this, my friends, is dangerous and should worry us all.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
When such a figure legitimizes discriminatory harm, the boundary between rule of law and authoritarian logic erodes and this, my friends, is dangerous and should worry us all.
What makes this case particularly alarming is who delivers the message. As a member of the Council of State aka the highest administrative supreme court in France, Klarsfeld has a position meant to safeguard legality, rule of law, proportionality, and fundamental rights and freedoms.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
What makes this case particularly alarming is who delivers the message. As a member of the Council of State aka the highest administrative supreme court in France, Klarsfeld has a position meant to safeguard legality, rule of law, proportionality, and fundamental rights and freedoms.
These groups are constructed as administrative problems rather than rights-bearing individuals, making them ideal targets for policies designed to test the limits of authoritarian governance.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
These groups are constructed as administrative problems rather than rights-bearing individuals, making them ideal targets for policies designed to test the limits of authoritarian governance.
This type of racist and despicable rhetoric targets a population alreadyseen as expendable: undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, racialized foreigners and yes, also racialized citizens.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
This type of racist and despicable rhetoric targets a population alreadyseen as expendable: undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, racialized foreigners and yes, also racialized citizens.
Language matters because it structures what becomes politically thinkable. In the French context, rafle is inseparable from a historys of racialized persecution and state complicity.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Language matters because it structures what becomes politically thinkable. In the French context, rafle is inseparable from a historys of racialized persecution and state complicity.
Using this type of vocabulary in migration debates is not innocent or random. It is calculated and it reflects the normalization of racist state practices through elite discourse, especially when articulated by figures who are supposed to hold legal and moral authority.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Using this type of vocabulary in migration debates is not innocent or random. It is calculated and it reflects the normalization of racist state practices through elite discourse, especially when articulated by figures who are supposed to hold legal and moral authority.
In France, the term "rafles" is strongly connected from the history of collaboration and genocide, particularly the July 1942 rafle du Vél d’Hiv, where thousands of Jews, including children, were arrested and deported by French authorities in complicity with Nazi occupiers.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
In France, the term "rafles" is strongly connected from the history of collaboration and genocide, particularly the July 1942 rafle du Vél d’Hiv, where thousands of Jews, including children, were arrested and deported by French authorities in complicity with Nazi occupiers.
Thing is: Klarsfeld is the son of Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, internationally known for hunting Nazi war criminals and preserving the memory of Holocaust victims.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Thing is: Klarsfeld is the son of Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, internationally known for hunting Nazi war criminals and preserving the memory of Holocaust victims.
Within days, the French Council of State (Conseil d’État) opened a disciplinary procedure against him for breaches of ethical standards required of members of the highest administrative court.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Within days, the French Council of State (Conseil d’État) opened a disciplinary procedure against him for breaches of ethical standards required of members of the highest administrative court.
He used the U.S. ICE model as an example to folloow, and said that “injustices” would be necessary “for the good of the State.” Yep, you read that well.
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
He used the U.S. ICE model as an example to folloow, and said that “injustices” would be necessary “for the good of the State.” Yep, you read that well.
Article in French: www.lavoixdunord.fr/1662380/arti...
Zaïd, premier bébé de l’année : « on aurait dû l’avorter », à peine né en France, le nourrisson est victime d’un immonde racisme
Il est le premier bébé de l’année né à Avignon, au cours de la nuit du Nouvel ...
www.lavoixdunord.fr
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Article in French: www.lavoixdunord.fr/1662380/arti...
Furthermore, reactionary actors increasingly seek to delegitimize, intimidate, or silence activists &academics who study or denounce racism, often portraying scholarly work as ideological threat.
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Furthermore, reactionary actors increasingly seek to delegitimize, intimidate, or silence activists &academics who study or denounce racism, often portraying scholarly work as ideological threat.
Cases like this also demonstrate that racism and violence targeting minorities are still not treated with the seriousness they demand, whether institutionally, politically, or in public debate.
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Cases like this also demonstrate that racism and violence targeting minorities are still not treated with the seriousness they demand, whether institutionally, politically, or in public debate.
This tension between so-called " color-blindness" and lived racial targeting,creates a space where racism is often minimized, reframed, or dismissed as “opinion,” even when it constitutes hate speech under the law.
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
This tension between so-called " color-blindness" and lived racial targeting,creates a space where racism is often minimized, reframed, or dismissed as “opinion,” even when it constitutes hate speech under the law.
Digital platforms have amplified this phenomenon. Online environments allow racist speech to spread rapidly, often detached from accountability.
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Digital platforms have amplified this phenomenon. Online environments allow racist speech to spread rapidly, often detached from accountability.
Over the past decades, France has seen a steady normalization of rhetoric linking immigration, names, religion, and race to perceived social decline or “loss of identity.” These narratives circulate well beyond far-right spaces.
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Over the past decades, France has seen a steady normalization of rhetoric linking immigration, names, religion, and race to perceived social decline or “loss of identity.” These narratives circulate well beyond far-right spaces.
(FYI: he was convicted for racist insults (injures à caractère raciste).
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
(FYI: he was convicted for racist insults (injures à caractère raciste).
This logic was made explicit in a highly publicized case in 2018, when far-right figure Éric Zemmour stated that columnist & entrepreneur Hapsatou Sy should be called “Corinne”, asserting that her name was, I quote "an insult to France" (sic)
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
This logic was made explicit in a highly publicized case in 2018, when far-right figure Éric Zemmour stated that columnist & entrepreneur Hapsatou Sy should be called “Corinne”, asserting that her name was, I quote "an insult to France" (sic)
The harassment was directed at his identity. This incident is not an isolated at all. It reflects a broader despicable climate in which racialized identities are increasingly framed as incompatible with national belonging in French public discourse.
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
The harassment was directed at his identity. This incident is not an isolated at all. It reflects a broader despicable climate in which racialized identities are increasingly framed as incompatible with national belonging in French public discourse.
Comments included deeply offensive language and outright racial hostility that I will not mention here. Zaïd’s parents filed a formal complaint with police, invoking French laws that prohibit public racist and hate speech.
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Comments included deeply offensive language and outright racial hostility that I will not mention here. Zaïd’s parents filed a formal complaint with police, invoking French laws that prohibit public racist and hate speech.
Within hours of the regional newspaper publication, hundreds of abusive and racist comments flooded social media platforms, criticizing the baby’s name and resorting to xenophobic insults.
January 19, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Within hours of the regional newspaper publication, hundreds of abusive and racist comments flooded social media platforms, criticizing the baby’s name and resorting to xenophobic insults.