Latest news with #NoisyleSec
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Too fabulous? ‘Aggressive' minority forces Paris suburb to nix ‘Barbie' movie night using gay promotion claim
PARIS, Aug 16 — An open-air screening of Greta Gerwig's blockbuster Barbie in Noisy-le-Sec, Seine-Saint-Denis, was abruptly cancelled last night after a group of youths threatened municipal workers and vowed to stop the film, prompting the mayor to call off the event for safety reasons. The threats occurred in the Londeau neighbourhood where the film was set to be shown as part of Est Ensemble's summer programming at nightfall, French news site Le Parisien reported. Mayor Olivier Sarrabeyrouse (PCF) revealed the cancellation on social media, explaining that aggressive youth had threatened to prevent the screening and destroy the equipment. The mayor reported that opponents claimed the film 'promotes homosexuality and is an attack on women's integrity,' which he dismissed as 'fallacious arguments.' City staff attempted to negotiate with the protesters but were forced to contact the mayor when the situation became increasingly aggressive and they felt endangered. Local resident Marie-Jeanne confirmed the confrontation, noting that staff told protesters it would be 'Barbie or nothing,' resulting in the cancellation when no alternative film could be arranged. The film had been democratically selected through a public vote where 214 residents participated, with 'Barbie' receiving 33 votes citywide and 13 votes in the Londeau neighbourhood specifically. Opposition politician Jean-Paul Lefebvre criticised the film choice as 'surprising' and suggested the incident represented 'a mark of rebellion against the mayor.' Mayor Sarrabeyrouse condemned what he called a 'censorship committee within the housing estate' and pointed out that 'Barbie' has never been banned in France. The mayor announced he would file a police complaint over the threats and declared 'I will not give in' to such intimidation tactics.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Open-air screening of Barbie is axed in French town after threats are made for 'promoting homosexuality', sparking 'religious fundamentalists' row
A French town has been forced to axe an open air-screening of Greta Gerwig 's Barbie after a group of residents threatened to interfere with the event that they claimed 'promoted' homosexuality. The last minute cancellation of the annual event, which was due to take place last Friday in the Parisian suburb of Noisy-le-Sec, has since sparked a political debate over censorship. Mayor Olivier Sarrabeyrouse issued a press release this week to explain why the screening of the highly regarded feminist film was scrapped, claiming that 'an extreme minority of thugs, who, no doubt, had not seen the film, [had] transformed a simple free open-air cinema screening open to all into a violent opposition movement'. 'They said that it advocates homosexuality and that it is an attack on the integrity of women,' he said, recalling that 'Barbie is a film for all audiences, which has never been banned in France '. 'I deplore the fact that a small group from the neighborhood mobilized its energy under pressure from an individual to prevent the screening of this film,' he went on to say. The cancellation of the screening has sparked political outrage, with political figures blaming the mayor for succumbing to censorship, but the background of those who objected to the film is not known. 'Algeria, Lebanon, Kuwait, and today Noisy-le-Sec in [France] censor #Barbie... the [mayor] submits to pressures from an 'aggressive group'! Translation: Islamist religious fundamentalists exert strong and effective social control!', wrote MP Valerie Boyer on X. But the mayor clapped back at the politician, telling French radio station RTL today: 'I never gave in'. 'I'm mayor, and I'm responsible for the safety of both public service employees and the population. I think all my fellow mayors, regardless of their political affiliation, would have made the same decision'. 'I condemn this kind of moral censorship, but I also condemn this exploitation,' he added, noting that 'transphobia and homophobia are not reserved for a section of the population' and that 'the extreme right and the right have been fighting these battles for years.' The film was banned in many Muslim countries over the perception that it promoted homosexuality, French media notes. The mayor of Noisy-Le-Sec, a suburb of Paris with a large North African community, did not identify the 'aggressive' group who made the threat. According to the mayor, several municipal workers received violent threats from the group of 'hooligans' who vowed to stop the screening and destroy equipment. 'These threats were motivated by fallacious arguments, reflecting obscurantism and fundamentalism instrumentalised for political ends.'
