It’s another legal battle between Karim Benzema and Damien Rieu. As Le Parisien reported on May 5, the Real Madrid striker has filed a lawsuit against the identity activist and supporter of Eric Zemmour during the presidential election campaign. Karim Benzema accuses Damien Rieu of two tweets that are currently still online. He is therefore suing him for defamation.
The first post dates from October 23, 2020. The activist of the Reconquête! party had not hesitated to publish on Twitter a photo of Karim Benzema and the Imam of Meaux, Nourdine Mamoune. The imam’s house had been searched three days after the murder of Samuel Paty in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. However, no prosecution had been initiated after this search, as reported by Le Parisien. Damien Rieu had therefore written a message in which he mentioned the former Lyon centre-forward: “Interesting to discover that Karim Benzema is socialising with the imam Nourdine Mamoune, who has just had his house searched. I can’t wait for the justice system to take an interest in the financing of mosques in Bron as well,” alluding to the footballer’s hometown. A month later, on November 22, 2020, Damien Rieu denounced another act by Karim Benzema on Twitter. In a photo, the player was seen with his index finger raised, which is a symbol of faith in Islam. Damien Rieu added three other pictures of jihadists to the post, who are making exactly the same sign. “I think Karim Benzema wants to send us a message,” the former Rassemblement National member commented.
Damien Rieu will be summoned to appear before the court in Lyon, Rhône, on May 23, where charges will be brought against him. The newspaper Le Parisien has asked the former spokesperson of the identitarian website Fdesouche to comment on the incidents. According to him, it is a “classic procedure of intimidation”. Damien Rieu expressed confidence in the further course of events. On Twitter, he published his court summons on Tuesday May 3, commenting that Karim Benzema “(wanted) to silence him”: “Tell him I won all my lawsuits.”