French national assembly rejects ‘moment of silence’ for dead refugees

PARIS: National Assembly of France president Yaël Braun-Pivet rejected a parliamentarian’s call for a moment of silence to honour the lives lost in the tragic shipwreck off the coast of Greece, in a video shared by Al Jazeera.

French national assembly member Aymeric Caron called on the National Assembly to observe a moment of silence for “exiles who tried to find a better life elsewhere”.

When parliamentarians collectively stood up, National Assembly of France president Yaël Braun-Pivet rejected the call.

“I actually find this idea to be wonderful. But the Conference of Presidents is there for that, so that we can collectively decide on the moments in which, in this hemicycle, we honour the missing. You don’t hold a minute of silence in this way”, she reprimanded.

She further stated that “practices such as these dishonour us. I’m sorry”.

The assembly applauded the president, upon which Caron retorted, “I don’t see why the improvisation of this moment would prevent our unity”.

The migrant boat was carrying an estimated 800 people, several hundreds of whom died in what has been termed one of the deadliest shipwrecks in the Mediterranean.

Lawmakers in France rejected a call for a moment of silence for the hundreds of refugees who lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean last week 👇 pic.twitter.com/8b0sJk0ckf

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 22, 2023