The incident is the latest in a disturbing pattern of abuse targeting lawmakers of colour in France.
The anonymous letter, delivered to her parliamentary office in the Palais Bourbon on July 11, questioned Abomangoli's legitimacy as a Black woman holding high office. Her lawyer, Chirinne Ardakani, confirmed the complaint was filed on grounds of "insulting a person holding public authority, or alternatively, a public insult of a racist and sexist nature."
The letter reportedly included inflammatory statements such as: 'First Black woman vice-president â€" I get shivers of discomfort. Decolonialism does not make you legitimate,' and 'A Black woman has no business in this role. Leave. You don't belong here. Or anywhere.' The author, who signed as a white man named "Jourdain," claimed he was more "deserving" of her position.
Ardakani condemned the letter as 'outrageous, openly racist and sexist,' calling it a direct attack on Abomangoli's dignity and the democratic mandate granted by the electorate. 'These remarks deny Ms. Abomangoli the legitimacy to hold one of the highest institutional offices â€" solely based on her skin colour and gender,' she stated.
Abomangoli, who was born in Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo and immigrated to France as a child, is a member of the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party.
She represents the 10th constituency of Seine-Saint-Denis, a diverse working-class suburb northeast of Paris, and was elected to parliament in 2022. In 2024, she was re-elected and named one of six vice-presidents of the National Assembly, a historic appointment as one of the few Black women to ever hold such a senior role in French politics.
The incident adds to a growing list of racially motivated attacks against LFI lawmakers of colour. MPs Carlos Martens Bilongo and Aly Diouara have also reported frequent racist abuse. Diouara's legal team recently announced that seven individuals will stand trial in December for harassing him online following his election.
In 2022, a far-right MP was suspended from parliament for making a racist remark about Bilongo. In an earlier incident in 2020, a right-wing magazine published a fictional story portraying Black MP Danièle Obono as a slave, sparking national outrage. And in 2013, then-Justice Minister Christiane Taubira was compared to a monkey in a headline by a far-right publication, a scandal that led to nationwide protests.
Abomangoli's complaint, her lawyer noted, is not just about personal protection, but about defending the integrity of public institutions against 'xenophobic and misogynistic stereotypes.'
'This is unquestionably intended to denigrate and stigmatise the vice-president â€" both for who she is and what she represents,' Ardakani said.
The French government has yet to issue a formal response to the latest incident, but pressure is mounting on authorities and political leaders to take stronger action against racial and gender-based political harassment.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
