French Politician Out Over Race Comments

France’s Socialist Party on Saturday expelled a politician who said there were too many black players on the national soccer team, party officials said.

Georges Freche was quoted by Midi Libre newspaper in November as saying he was ashamed that as many as nine of 11 starters on the French team were black.

“It would be normal if there were three or four, that would be a reflection of society,” Freche was quoted as saying. “But if there are so many, it’s because whites are no good. I’m ashamed for this country.”

President Jacques Chirac issued a stern condemnation, and several prominent Socialists, including the party’s presidential candidate, Segolene Royal, demanded he quit the party.

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At a meeting Saturday in Paris, members of the Socialists’ national conflict commission voted unanimously to expel Freche, whose comments they judged “incompatible with the values of equality and the respect for human rights,” the party said in a statement.

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