Marlène Schiappa had not finished her Christmas shopping, but was well inspired by a former executive of the National Rally, Julien Rochedy, as the Huffington Post revealed.
Bon réveillon à toutes & tous, joyeux Noël🎄! Pensées spéciales à ceux qui sont loin de leurs proches ou rejetés. Paix et amour. Pace e salute. pic.twitter.com/s6qhoyCzbx
— 🇫🇷 MarleneSchiappa (@MarleneSchiappa) December 24, 2019
On Tuesday, December 24, the Secretary of State posted on Twitter a photo of her in front of her Christmas tree, a mixed-race doll on her lap, along with her wishes for “those who are far from their loved ones or rejected”. In the comments, most noticed that the plastic baby was the same model as the one denounced a few days earlier by the former manager of the RN, Julien Rochedy.
The affair goes back to Sunday, December 15, when Julien Rochedy, former director of the National Youth Front (FNJ) posted an unequivocal message on Twitter about baby dolls he saw in his supermarket. “Now we don’t even have a choice. In my little provincial supermarket, the only baby highlighted is mixed-race. Our little girls have to comply. The future is shown to us; better, it is prescribed to us: disappear, dirty whites,” he wrote, with photos showing the merchandise.
His message was relayed more than a thousand times and liked by nearly 2 000 people, but not really to the taste of the Secretary of State for Gender Equality and her “fight against discrimination”. On the same social network, Marlène Schiappa had made a point of responding to him with a message that one thought was imbued with irony.
“Hello Julien Rochedy, could you give me the address of the supermarket please? I would like one of these adorable babies for my niece, I looked everywhere for it! Thank you in advance and Merry Christmas.” Clearly, the Secretary of State supports miscegenation.
After Marlène Schiappa’s first message, Julien Rochedy decided to retaliate: “Good evening Marlène Schiappa, you are a little disappointing since you give in to gender stereotypes so easily. So rather offer a beautiful obese and transsexual Action Man to your adorable niece for more inclusiveness! Merry Christmas,” he had said, to the joy of many Internet users committed to his cause.
Bonsoir @MarleneSchiappa, vous êtes un peu décevante à céder aussi facilement aux stéréotypes de genre. Offrez donc plutôt un magnifique ActionMan obèse et transexuel à votre adorable nièce pour plus d'inclusivité ! Joyeux Noël 🥰
— Julien Rochedy (@JRochedy) December 15, 2019
In Italy, similarly, an Archbishop promoted the black baby Jesus to his congregation for Christmas: “There is no future without integration,” said Don Corrado Lorefice.
Corrado Lorefice held up a colored little boy on the altar of the cathedral of Palermo, an initiative aimed at raising awareness among the faithful on the theme of welcoming migrants.
A small procession of eight boys and girls (six Italians and two foreigners) dressed in white and blue, were gathered around with an Italian man and a black woman who held up and showed the statuette of Jesus with a dark complexion.
Subsequently, the children placed the Christmas lights and wreaths near the little boy, at whose feet was placed the book of the Gospel open to the page announcing the birth of Jesus in a manger. Some missionaries who work in Tanzania gave it to Monsignor Filippo Sarullo on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination.
It was Archbishop Lorefice who wanted the statue to be placed in front of the altar as a sign of welcome to the foreign community of the city: “This little boy wants to provoke a reflection against all forms of racism and help to understand that diversity enriches reciprocally and that there can be no future without the integration of diversity.”
Lorefice has also welcomed the ships that brought hundreds of migrants rescued at sea to Palermo.