Should Canada close its doors to controversial French comic? – Erna Paris

Will be interesting to see if he is denied entry – Paris bets that entry will be denied:

Elements of these beliefs link both extremes of France’s political spectrum; however, there’s nothing new about them. Behind Dieudonné’s vile humour lies a subtext that is familiar to the French; when he targets perceived injustice, taunts scapegoats and reminds his fans of French colonial abuses, he awakens historical grievances – and in this he has famous predecessors.

Starting in the 1960s, Frantz Fanon’s wildly successful book The Wretched of the Earth exposed the psychological effects of colonialism and radicalized a generation. In the 1980s, Jacques Vergès, the Maoist lawyer for Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, turned his client’s trial into a focused attack on France itself – over its wartime collaboration and crimes committed during the Algerian conflict. (Mr. Vergès also subscribed to the ideology of “the new anti-Semitism,” although it didn’t yet have a name.)

Dieudonné is not in this league. Even the charges against him have mutated into petty criminality, the latest being brandishing a weapon against a bailiff who came to collect court-ordered fines. But is he dangerous? French authorities think so. As extremism grows, they worry that his racist goading will engender more violence.

Should he be barred from Canada? In today’s climate, I doubt that the French-specific new anti-Semitism would find much resonance in Quebec. On the other hand, he seems to be trying to salvage his career. According to his lawyer, the Montreal show (for which tickets are sold out) is titled In Peace. “It’s about plants and ecology,” he said.

Will Dieudonné be barred from Canada? Probably. Our anti-hate laws resemble those of France, and he has many justified criminal convictions. When he presents himself at customs next week, the border agents will make a decision about his eligibility. If I were Dieudonné, I’d get a refund on my plane ticket now.