FIGAROVOX/TRIBUNE – The actor sparked controversy when he explained that the conflict in Ukraine has affected the French more than those raging on the African continent. Marie-Laure Buisson regrets the actor’s ingratitude towards the country, which, in her opinion, gave her everything.
After working as an auditor at the Institute for Higher National Defense Studies (IHEDN), Marie-Laure Buisson established a foundation dedicated to helping soldiers and their families, particularly the wounded and the families of soldiers who fell serving France. She has also published Women Fighters (2022, ed. Les Presses de la Cité, 349 pp., €21).
So, dear Omar Sy, on the occasion of the commercial promotion of your latest film, Tirailleurs, you thought it appropriate to tell Le Parisien newspaper: “I am surprised that people are so affected (by the conflict in Ukraine). Does that mean you are less affected in Africa?
A first reaction is to doubt your logical mind, as you claim that the fact that you have empathy for Ukrainians would be proof that you are less emotionally exposed to Africans. Admit that your lyrical soaring is quite confusing, rather illogical on a semantic level and can leave the reader perplexed, even shocked.
In truth, reading such a statement, one may wonder if you have a score to settle with France, or if you are simply misinformed. However, news these days travels fast, reaching those who want to read it almost anywhere: even at the edge of a Hollywood pool.
108,000 French troops have entered the Sahel to protect Africans from the deadly terrorist threat.
Marie-Laure Buisson
To be honest, this statement is an accusation of intent coupled with a historical lie, so let me remind you of some irrefutable facts. Yes, France is just as interested in the fate of Africans and their security as it is in that of Ukrainians. You have probably forgotten that our country has been involved in several operations in Africa since January 11, 2013: that day, at the request of the Malian authorities, President Hollande launched Operation Serval, then in the clutches of a major terrorist attack, in particular the Salafists by Ansar Dine. This commitment by the French army even prompted President Keïta to say the following day, January 14, during an Africa-France summit: “The Malian people and I will never forget what Mali owes you”. This lively tribute to France shows the gratitude this head of state felt for our country, which was then presented as the savior of the Malian nation. Apparently you probably missed this episode. Unless you have selective memory.
Subsequently, France participated in Operation Barkhane for almost nine years, deploying both men and equipment and allowing local civilians to benefit from development aid funded by our country. , Their country. For nine years, four thousand men and women were sent to the Sahel every four months to keep Africans safe. Perform a simple mathematical operation, Omar Sy, and you will calculate that 108,000 French soldiers have entered the countries of the Sahel to protect Africans from the deadly terrorist threat. Bravely, far from the film sets you are used to, they fought, guns in hand, against Al Qaeda, Daesh and all their cronies who are oppressing the people of the Sahel.
Although you should be the most beautiful ambassador of French success, you chose, as soon as you could, to banish yourself far from this country that built you.
Marie-Laure Buisson
In these shattered countries, in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, we French lost soldiers. Fifty-eight in all. Their names were Cédric de Pierrepont, Pierre Bocquel, Karim El Arabi, Maxime Blasco, Samir Bajja to name a few. And you, Omar Sy, were you “struck” when these young people died serving this country you left to settle in the United States? Did you feel “reached” as your coffins crossed the Alexandre III Bridge to be displayed in the Invalides’ square courtyard before a final tribute? Come on, since we can all tell each other, from California where you live, had you ever heard the names of those soldiers, your compatriots, who died protecting Africans in the Sahel?
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The truth is, Omar Sy, you never have kind words for France, to whom you owe everything, you Trappes child. You grew up in France, it was in France that you experienced your first successes, whether on Canal+ or in the cinema. It is the French who consecrated you and included you in the list of your favorite actors. Although you should be the best ambassador of French success, you have chosen, as soon as you can, to banish yourself far from this country that built you and to which you owe everything. If you don’t seem “reached” by recognition for the country that made you a movie star, you can at least stop criticizing it when you get the chance.
As you are exceptionally in France to promote your film, you will visit the soldiers wounded in the African military operations. They are much younger than you, are hospitalized in several military hospitals and have lost an arm, a leg, a jaw and their eyesight. Seeing them so affected in their flesh will certainly be difficult, but I’ll make you a promise: these men are no clowns.
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