‘French nationals only, no blacks’ Paris estate agent blasted for posting 'racist' advert
AN ESTATE agents has been accused for racism after posting an advert in a wealthy Paris suburb asked for “French nationals only, no blacks”.
An estate agents in a Parisian suburb claimed they "could not afford" to be racist
Laforêt in Paris, advertised an apartment in Levallois-Perret, an expensive suburb, with a bold capital message which read: “Important attention for the selection of tenants: French nationality compulsory, no blacks”.
Paris museum chronicles racism in African-American art
You cannot afford racism in this area
Moustapha, a potential renter, discovered the advert in a paper document and challenged the estate agent immediately.
Speaking to a French newspaper, he said: “He [the estate agent] gave me very vague explanations, saying that it did not come from him. At the time, I was very shocked.
“I am not naive, i know that this kind of discrimination exists but there, it is really explicit and (openly) displayed.”
French racist apartment advert read: "no blacks"
After the company ignored his protests, Moustapha published the advertisement on twitter with the question, “what kind of criteria is that?”, which gained 2000 retweets.
Desperate to protest his company’s innocence, Laurent Palestra, the manager of the estate agency, said the homeowner was racist.
The French estate agent's website did not have any racist comments
Mr Palestra said: “I was quite shocked, I asked the real estate agent for explanations. There were black people who were visiting the apartment.
“When owners are racist, I give my staff instructions not to take their bookings. You cannot afford racism in this area”.
The French landlord denied all allegations and said: “I can't explain what is going on. I am absolutely not racist, I have three Maghrebis and a Black (sic) as tenants. In addition, I no longer work with this agency since the end of October.”
After the racist advert was published on Twitter, the estate agent made a public statement to deflect public condemnation.
The statement read: "We are appalled by this information and find totally unacceptable and inappropriate.
EU Commissioner Oettinger accused of racism after speech
"The management and agencies of Laforêt's branch network vigorously condemn any form of discrimination. Values such as equality, diversity and respect for others are part of our core principles.
"We will undertake the necessary actions to ensure that this does not happen again. We present our most sincere apologies."