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Journalist and writer Nassira El Moaddem announced on Tuesday that she will take legal action after receiving death threats from LR senator and former mayor of Blanc-Mesnil, Thierry Meignen.
Since January, the French-Moroccan author has been promoting her book Main basse sur la ville, enquête au Blanc-Mesnil, territoire trahi de la République (Stock). In the context of the second round of municipal elections, won by left-wing candidate Demba Traoré in the town, Meignen, who was defeated at the polls, made threatening and insulting remarks against her.
The statements, recorded two days before the vote, were published on Monday by Le Monde. «I will have her convicted of defamation. I will whip her. I will go all the way, she will die, I will kill her», Thierry Meignen said, according to the newspaper, which interviewed him in his office. At the time, the LR candidate also claimed that Nassira El Moaddem was «a paid activist» for the Communist Party.
Contacted by Yabiladi on Wednesday, publishing house Stock confirmed that a complaint had been filed with the public prosecutor. In a statement released earlier, the publisher said it was taking legal action «immediately» after learning «with astonishment» of the remarks made by the senator and former mayor.
Stock condemned what it described as «particularly serious threats and insults against the author», stressing that «such remarks, made all the more serious by the fact they come from an elected official of the Republic, constitute an intolerable attack on the most fundamental democratic values».
A book that fuels political tensions
For her part, Nassira El Moaddem spoke out on social media, questioning «what comes next» in what she described as an escalation. «Intimidated, followed, my equipment stolen in front of my children’s school, as I recount in my book, today the senator and former mayor of Blanc-Mesnil, Thierry Meignen, is threatening to kill me and insulting me», she said.
Her book, the result of six years of reporting in a working-class town in Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, examines what she describes as «the most complete illustration of what politics can become at its worst, in total opacity». It details a decade-long shift to the right in Blanc-Mesnil, marked, according to the publisher, by «clientelism, nepotism, witch hunts, censorship, racism, real estate dealings, manipulation, and harassment».
El Moaddem describes how this system has affected «local residents, foreigners, municipal employees, political opponents, and low-income families», alleging efforts to reshape the town into «a Neuilly of the 93, serving a specific clan».
She also claims the book documents «six years of work to explain how a working-class town with a strong immigrant history, long governed by the left, shifted toward the far right», including allegations involving a €20,000 payment to an association linked to Sarah Knafo, partner of far-right figure Éric Zemmour.
Last weekend’s municipal elections marked a new political shift, with the town returning to the left. Demba Traoré’s list won with 51.49% of the vote, against 48.51% for outgoing mayor Thierry Meignen, with turnout reaching 53.38%.
Following the result, Meignen made further controversial remarks, telling Le Figaro that «the city will be divided between the thugs and those who are afraid» and that «Blanc-Mesnil is lost».
