Aya Nakamura: Paris Olympics culture row erupts as far right rages at French singer - BBC News

She is the world's most listened-to French female singer, but should Aya Nakamura perform at the Games?

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Joseph Okpako/WireImageImage caption, Aya Nakamura came to France as a child and mixes upbeat Afropop, R&B and Parisian street slangBy Hugh SchofieldBBC News, ParísShe may be the most listened-to French female singer in the world, but is Aya Nakamura the right fit for the Paris Olympics?

President Emmanuel Macron's reported idea that the 28-year-old Franco-Malian singer perform at the opening ceremony in July has sparked an almighty row in France about identity and language.

On one side are ranged her supporters, who say there could be no better way of showcasing the vibrancy of modern-day Francophone culture - a culture that revels in its diversity.

On the other are the detractors, who say her music owes more to Africa and the United States than it does to France - and that her use of the French language only debases it.

The arguments, over an invitation that it is still only hypothetical, spilled onto social media, after her name was booed at an election rally of the far-right Reconquest party.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68552093

---