Overview
- Minister Laurent Nuñez condemned Bernard Bazinet’s comment and said the remark is incompatible with holding mayoral office.
- Bazinet was expelled from the Socialist Party and issued a public apology, saying he reacted in anger and misjudged the term’s antisemitic connotation.
- Regional reporting says he is due in January 2026 before the Périgueux prosecutor’s delegate for alleged public racial insult.
- The anti-racism group Licra criticized the use of an alternative measure by the prosecutor, calling the response insufficient.
- Under France’s local government code, suspension can last up to one month by ministerial order, while revocation requires a motivated decree in the Council of Ministers and has been imposed on only six mayors under the Fifth Republic.