A far-right French mayor has managed to gain himself some extremely negative PR by storming into a squat and telling the Syrian refugees, ‘you’re not welcome in this town’.
The politician, Robert Menard, who has links with the National Front, was captured on video steaming into the squat surrounded by police and armed guards.
Furious at the refugee squatters he used a translator to tell them: “You’re not welcome in this town. You came in this apartment breaking the door.”
“You are stealing the water. People are paying for the water, but you are stealing electricity and water” he added.
“I’m saying it again: you are not welcome in this town. If you behave correctly, you are welcome, but not if you behave like this.”
The comments sparked a national outcry with Menard’s opponents branding him brutal and insensitive. It’s hard to disagree with his detractors, given that the refugees have nowhere else to go.
Aime Couquet, another French politician, is arguing that the mayor was breaking the law, citing the fact that ‘you need a court order to expel someone’.
Chris is a trending and viral news editor at UNILAD.