The French actor Omar Syfamous for his role in Untouchables (Untouchable) and for starring in the French series Lupine (Netflix), assures that “there are cases in which it is difficult to be black in France“and that what happened with the singer Aya Nakamura and the Olympic Games are an example of this.
In a long interview published in the newspaper Le Parisian this Sunday, in which Sy – the son of a Mauritanian and Senegalese couple – answered questions from readers on the occasion of the publication of the book he has published with the journalist Elsa Vigoureux (Viens, on se parle), the actor assured that he has lived numerous situations of discrimination.
The 46-year-old actor, despite everything, specified that the question about whether it is difficult to be black today in France is a question that is “dangerous” to answer with “generalities”.
“The answer requires development and nuance. Of course there are cases in which it is difficult to be black in France. It is not nothing new and unfortunately it continues to happen. It can occur at any time in life. I’ll give a recent example: Aya Nakamura,” she said.
Sy thus referred to the criticisms, in many cases racist and xenophobicwhich the Franco-Malian singer and the Paris 2024 organization have received, especially from the extreme right, given the possibility that Nakamura will be one of the stars of the opening ceremony of this summer’s Games.
“He was successful in life, transcended his social level and found himself in a situation where he was victim of racism“argued the actor about Nakamura, a star considered the most listened to current French-speaking singer in the world.
Regarding himself, he stated that he has “many examples” and that all he needs to do is go back to the hatred received this week, following another interview broadcast on Thursday on the TMC network, where he called on France to “wake up” against the rise of the extreme right.
“I have woken up some people that they are starting to vomit again… But everything is fine,” he assured, downplaying it.
Although he did not comment in detail on current French politics, Sy, when asked about how the polls give victory to the extreme right in France for the European elections in June, assured that although his “optimism is a little shaken at the moment,” he remains “optimistic”. He also stated that he is not worried that his stances will harm his acting career.
In Viens, on se parle (Come, let’s talk), from the publisher Albin Michel, Sy reviews his career and his way of seeing the profession, but also his childhood in the suburbs of Paris.
