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Justice Minister Christiane Taubira

PARIS. — France’s top black politician yesterday opened up about the pain she has suffered over a string of racist slurs as the initially subdued reaction to them belatedly turned to outrage. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, who has been repeatedly compared to a monkey in public over the course of the last two months, admitted that the taunts — unprecedented in recent times — had hurt.

“The problem is above all for those close to me who see all that,” the 61-year-old minister said in an interview with the Le Parisien newspaper.
“It is very hard, very aggressive as an image for my children.

“But it goes far beyond my case. This displaying of racism is a problem for everyone. It tarnishes France. It is not just one isolated person that is being called a monkey, it is a government minister, the justice minister.”

Taubira has been publicly critical of her government colleagues for the tepid nature of their reaction when the issue first flared up last month following the expulsion of an electoral candidate from the far-right National Front party for her observation that she would prefer to see the minister “swinging from the branches rather than in government.” — AFP.