Humorist Merwane Benlazar faces accusations of promoting political censorship following a segment on France Inter. Deputy Jérémie Patrier-Leitus criticized him for advocating a 'cordon sanitaire' against the far right, inspired by Belgian media. This controversy adds to his past disputes over statements deemed Islamist.
Merwane Benlazar, a humorist and columnist on France Inter, is at the center of a new controversy. On January 19, 2026, Horizons deputy from Calvados, Jérémie Patrier-Leitus, chairman of the inquiry commission on the neutrality and funding of public audiovisual, accused him of 'calling for political censorship and a media cordon sanitaire' in the Zoom Zoom Zen show aired on January 7.
In this segment, Benlazar denounced giving airtime to nationalist ideas. 'We have been too kind to the far right. Putting a fascist on the mic legitimizes their ideas,' he stated, to the laughter of the other participants. He criticized the 'receive everyone' argument, asserting: 'You're a media, you have a responsibility, I expect you to sort people out before receiving them!'
He compared nationalists to 'the devil,' satirizing a fictional interview by Guillaume Pley: 'Was Hell tough, how long did you stay? Was it hot?' Benlazar urged French media to draw inspiration from the 'cordon sanitaire' of French-speaking Belgian media against the far right, recalling RTBF's January 2025 decision not to air Donald Trump's inauguration speech live due to his 'racist, far-right, xenophobic' remarks.
This is not Benlazar's first controversy. In January 2025, he was ousted from France 5 after past social media posts deemed Islamist, such as 'A woman's place is at home with her father. Fear your lord' from 2021, or misogynistic comments like 'A woman to cook for me.' Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed his eviction, stating: 'Were scandalous remarks made by this columnist? Yes. So following these remarks, France Télévisions drew the consequences.' Benlazar responded with: 'I knew I'd be fired one day, but by an Arab woman, that's annoying.'
This case raises debates on freedom of expression and the responsibility of public media in France.
