A court in France scrapped a municipal ban on a performance by the anti-Semitic comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala Thursday after he petitioned to negate the ruling by a court in Nantes.
The judge rejected the argument made by Christian de Lavernée, a municipal administrator, who banned the show on grounds that it would create a disturbance to public order and “cause offense to basic human dignity.”
The show, which will take place Thursday night in Nantes, is scheduled to be the first performance in a nationwide tour by Dieudonne of his new routine, “The Wall.”
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls last week sent a letter to all French mayors assuring them they had the authority to ban shows by Dieudonne, who has been convicted seven times for inciting racial hatred against Jews with jokes about the Holocaust; calls for the liberation of Jew-killers; and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, among other actions.
He is scheduled to appear on Jan. 26 in Bordeaux, one of several French cities that have banned his show at Valls’ encouragement.
The ruling came amid criticism that Valls’ attempts to ban Dieudonne’s shows were too restrictive of freedom of expression.