French lawyer Arno Klarsfeld, the son of renowned Nazi hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, triggered a wave of indignation across France after calling for large-scale roundups of undocumented immigrants during a live broadcast on CNews on Saturday, January 24. Speaking on the debate show Punchline, Klarsfeld stated that in order to deal with foreigners subject to deportation orders known as OQTF, France should organize operations modeled on the approach taken by the Trump administration and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in the United States.
Klarsfeld's exact words were that to get rid of people under OQTF orders, it would be necessary to organize 'sorts of large roundups everywhere,' acknowledging that such operations would inevitably produce injustices that he considered acceptable for the good of the state. The debate was prompted by recent violent crimes in Nice, including the rape of a 90-year-old woman and the killing of a young mother, in which suspects were found to be foreign nationals under deportation orders. The segment aired on CNews, a channel that has repeatedly faced criticism for hosting inflammatory rhetoric on immigration.
The use of the word 'rafle,' meaning roundup, provoked particular shock given its deep historical resonance in France. The term is inextricably linked to the Vel d'Hiv roundup of July 1942, when French police acting under the Vichy regime arrested more than 13,000 Jewish men, women, and children in Paris for deportation to Nazi concentration camps. Journalist Jean-Michel Aphatie wrote that hearing Arno Klarsfeld use the word 'rafle' twice to describe operations targeting human beings was chilling. The fact that the remarks came from the son of Serge Klarsfeld, whose own father was deported to Auschwitz in 1943, intensified the public backlash.
Political leaders from across the French left condemned the comments. Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure expressed disbelief on social media, writing that he hoped the clip was fabricated because such remarks seemed impossible. He announced his intention to refer the matter to the Paris prosecutor under the 1881 press law, which criminalizes incitement to discrimination, hatred, and violence. La France Insoumise deputy Thomas Portes filed a formal complaint with both the Paris prosecutor and France's broadcasting regulator Arcom under Article 40 of the code of criminal procedure. LFI group leader Mathilde Panot underscored the disturbing contradiction of a descendant of roundup and deportation victims calling for roundups on live television.
Facing mounting criticism, Klarsfeld attempted to defend himself on the social media platform X on Saturday evening. He argued that the dictionary definition of the word 'rafle' should be consulted and that arresting foreigners who had committed crimes and potentially returning them to their countries of origin was fundamentally different from seizing Jewish children and sending them to Auschwitz to be gassed. However, critics quickly pointed out that Klarsfeld himself had previously written to President Emmanuel Macron stating that it would be impossible, without becoming a police state, to carry out gigantic roundups across French territory to apprehend people in an irregular situation.
The controversy reignited debate over the editorial direction of CNews, which has been compared to Fox News and has faced regulatory scrutiny over content deemed to incite hatred or discrimination. Only 7.7 percent of OQTF deportation orders were effectively enforced in 2023 according to the most recent available data, making the removal of undocumented migrants a persistent and politically charged issue in France. Several civil society organizations announced they were examining the possibility of pursuing legal action over the broadcast remarks.
The incident occurred against the backdrop of intensifying immigration enforcement in the United States, where the Trump administration has deployed ICE agents in operations that have drawn both support and condemnation. Two American citizens were recently killed during an ICE operation in Minneapolis, underscoring the risks associated with aggressive enforcement tactics. In France, the debate over immigration policy has remained at the forefront of political discourse, with far-right parties calling for tougher measures and left-wing parties warning against the erosion of fundamental rights and the normalization of dangerous rhetoric.
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