Dieudonne M’bala M’bala drops Le Mur show after ban
Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, who has convictions for anti-Semitic hate speech in France, has dropped his controversial show Le Mur (The Wall) after it was banned.
The comedian told reporters in Paris he would no longer perform The Wall, after France’s highest court upheld a ban on the opening night of his tour on Thursday.
Citing “blatant political interference”, he said he wanted to perform a new show devoted to Africa.
This new show has already been banned by the authorities in Paris.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls is seeking to keep Dieudonne M’bala M’bala off all stages in France, condemning the comic’s “mechanics of hate”.
“The Dieudonne controversy and the Le Mur show are over,” Dieudonne M’bala M’bala said in a statement on French TV.
“Now, I think we will get a chance to laugh more intensely with my new show.”
“We live in a democratic country and I have to comply with the laws, despite the blatant political interference,” he said.
Dieudonne M’bala M’bala also denied being an anti-Semite.
Several police vans lined the street outside a Paris theatre where he had been due to perform on Saturday.
Supporters of Dieudonne M’bala M’bala and critics of the bans accuse the authorities of denying his freedom of speech.
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