PARIS – The French government rallied around besieged interior minister Brice Hortefeux yesterday, defending him from claims of racism and rejecting calls for his resignation.
Mr Hortefeux is at the centre of a storm after a recent video emerged of him joking with party activists while having his photograph taken with a young Arab.
A voice says: “He is one of us . . . he is our little Arab.” Hortefeux says: “We always need one. It’s when there are lots of them that there are problems.” The minister denies racism. – (Reuters)