The prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes and the city hall of Nice have recently announced their opposition to the screening in the commune of the documentary “General Soleimani, Hero and Martyr of the Resistance,” by Aïssa d’Axe of the Palestine resistance.
Planned in a private venue in downtown Nice at 8:00 PM on January 26th, the preview screening of the documentary is not to everyone’s liking. From Eric Ciotti to Christian Estrosi and David Nakache, the president of the association “Tous Citoyens!,” voices opposing the film’s screening are increasingly being heard.
A prefectural ban in the coming hours?
The city of Nice reacted on X through Anthony Borré, first deputy mayor of the city: “Together with Christian Estrosi, we have asked the prefect of Alpes-Maritimes to ban this screening,” said the official.
Hugues Mouthou, for his part, believes there “will be no public meeting in the Alpes-Maritimes department promoting messages inciting hatred or discrimination,” explaining that “anti-Semitism is not an opinion; it’s a crime.” However, no order has been issued so far.
A political figure who leaves no one indifferent
Qassem by his first name, General Soleimani died on January 3, 2020, during a raid orchestrated by the American military in Baghdad. Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, he is considered a terrorist by the United States, although in Iran, he is seen as a national hero (among other factors, propagated by the Iranian regime). A decorated veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in which he became a division commander before the age of 30, Soleimani is said to have played a significant role in the defeat of the jihadist group Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
Apart from anti-Semitism, praise for Islamism and repeated massacres are notably reproached to him by the local elected officials.
