France hands anti-racism award to media stars accused of racism
France has awarded a top human rights prize to two broadcasters who have been accused of anti-Muslim racism and discrediting critics of Israel by labelling them as antisemites.
Sophia Aram and Jacques Essebag, who is better known by his stage name "Arthur", received the Jean Pierre-Bloch Prize from President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday.
The award, curated by the International League Against Racism and Antisemitism (Licra) and named after its former president, honours "an artist and their work" related to human rights.
It was given this year to these two media personalities "in recognition of their exceptional commitment to the fight against antisemitism".
“The award ceremony comes amid a surge in antisemitic acts and thus embodies a powerful message: the fight against antisemitism and for a more just and tolerant future must never stop," said the palace in a statement.
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Aram and Arthur built their careers on French TV and radio, often hosting and starring in comedic shows that poke fun at politics and society.
In recent years, Aram has increasingly hit back at "woke" and branded leftists and pro-Palestinian campaigners as antisemites or Hamas supporters.
In May 2024, she gave a speech at the Molieres Awards ceremony, where she denounced what she called the "deafening silence" of the cultural world following the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023.
She also claimed that "there is no more apartheid in Israel than there is now a genocide in Gaza" and performed a sketch about the pager blasts carried out by Israel in Lebanon, which killed and injured thousands of civilians.
In December, Aram mocked left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) MP Aymeric Caron for his condemnation of anti-Muslim racism, calling him "Abou Aymeric el Versailly" on social media and referring to the “Caron Fatwas”.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, she sparked further backlash after mocking the headscarf worn by Dutch gold medalist Sifan Hassan, saying: "Me when I come out of the hammam and my head is cold."
Rewarding 'defenders of genocide'
Meanwhile, Arthur has accused politicians supportive of Palestinians, such as French-Palestinian European Parliament member Rima Hassan, of being "antisemites" and supporting Hamas.
He is also said to be close to the Diaspora Defense Forces, providing support for Israel during its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
In his speech at the Elysee Palace, Arthur equated antisemitism with anti-Zionism.
"While the republic sometimes hesitates, hatred advances, settles in, takes its ease... with its new Trojan horse, anti-Zionism. The one who says Israel but thinks Jewish. The one who claims to criticise a policy but actually hates an identity," he said.
Macron echoed similar sentiments in his speech at the ceremony, saying that "the poison of antisemitism", which he described as "a hatred born on the far right", has now spread "to certain ranks of the far left and the left, for whom anti-Zionism serves as an alibi for the expression of antisemitism".
The French president was hinting at LFI, which has been accused of antisemitism for its stance against Israel.
In a post on X, Caron called the handing of the award to the two "the prize of shame".
"How is it possible that this prize was awarded to two people who support the massacres in Gaza, who have never said a single word for the 20,000 Palestinian children who have been murdered there by Israel over the past year and a half?" he wrote.
He also accused the Licra of being pro-Israel and helping whitewash Israel's war crimes.
"So, this year's prize actually rewards defenders of genocide," he said.
"What's particularly serious is that the president of the French republic is participating in this indecent charade, while Israel has broken the ceasefire, and more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in two weeks, including several hundred massacred children."
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