The rumor that one of France's biggest music stars, Aya Nakamura, might sing an Edith Piaf song during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony sparked a far-right backlash this weekend.
Local media has reported the French-Malian singer discussed the possibility of performing a song by 20th century icon Piaf when she met President Emmanuel Macron last month, though neither party has confirmed the rumors.
That was enough to become an issue at a campaign rally on Sunday for the Reconquête ! party, led by former far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, where Nakamura's name drew boos from the crowd. A small extremist group, the Natives, was particularly upset at the prospect of her performing at the Olympics, hanging a banner on the River Seine that read: "There's no way Aya, this is Paris, not the Bamako market".
Nakamura responded on social media, saying: "You can be racist but not deaf... That's what hurts you! I'm becoming a number 1 state subject in debates... but what do I really owe you? Nothing." The 28-year-old singer has become a pop superstar around the world for hits like "Djadja", which has close to a billion streams on YouTube alone.
Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera also weighed in, telling Nakamura: "It doesn't matter, people love you. Don't worry about anything."
Another lawmaker, Antoine Leaument of the radical left La France Insoumise party, also hit out at the Natives, posting: "They claim to love their country, but they want to exclude the most listened-to French-speaking singer in the world since Edith Piaf. We cannot be racist and patriotic in France."