French Police Launch Raids On Controversial Comic Dieudonné

French police have launched raids on the Paris home of controversial comic Dieudonné M'bala M'bala as well as le Théâtre de la Main d'Or, a source close to the investigation told the AFP.

This is the latest chapter in the controversy swirling around the comedian.

Dieudonné, whose act has been widely condemned as being anti-Semitic, was banned from performing in several French cities on the grounds of maintaining public order as authorities probe whether he should face charges for breaking French laws against “inciting racial hatred”.

French President François Hollande has publicly backed the ban on his performances

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Dieudonné, whose father is from Cameroon and whose mother is French Caucasian, is also known for his trademark “quenelle” salute, a straight-armed downward gesture that some have likened to a reverse Nazi salute.

The comic denied that the gesture is anti-Semitic but says that it is merely an anti-establishment salute.