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French officials who combat online hate are investigating racist attacks targeting the Mali-born French pop superstar Aya Nakamura, who was rumored to have been booked to perform at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, the Paris prosecutor’s press office confirmed Friday.
In recent days, Nakamura has faced an onslaught of racist venom from far-right extremist groups in France after local media reported that she had met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss performing a song by the legendary singer Édith Piaf during the Olympics’ opening festivities July 26.
NBC News has not independently confirmed those reports.
“You can be racist but not deaf,” Nakamura, 28, said Sunday on the social media platform X. She posted in response to a photo showing members of the far-right extremist group the Natives, who had hung a banner by the River Seine that read: “There’s no way Aya, this is Paris, not the Bamako market.”
Nakamura is one of the most popular recording artists in contemporary France, best known for hit singles such as “Djadja” and “Copines.” She has also cultivated an international following, racking up millions of streams on Spotify and YouTube.
But far-right extremist groups have subjected her to intense racist vitriol, insisting that she does not represent France and criticizing her use of French slang. (She was born in the Malian capital of Bamako and immigrated to France as a child.)
The mere mention of Nakamura’s name drew jeers from a crowd at a rally Sunday for the Reconquest political party, led by the far-right former presidential candidate Éric Zemmour, according to Agence France-Presse.
The organizers of the Paris Olympics have come to her defense. “We were very shocked by the racist attacks against Aya Nakamura in recent days,” the Paris 2024 committee said in a statement this week. “We offer our full support to the most listened-to French artist in the world.”
In an interview with the France Info radio network, French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra also denounced the racist backlash. “Aya Nakamura has been the victim of racist attacks that are totally unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” she said.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Nakamura acknowledged the expressions of solidarity. “Thanks for the support,” she wrote in part, “especially to my community.”
