“Remigration begins”, “It will end up veiled (…) Football is dying of the racialized. The gym now. Let’s clean up French sport” or “Stop the promotion of dual nationals. They always betray their adopted country (…) They should necessarily and only choose French nationality.” The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation after a complaint from Franco-Algerian artistic gymnast Djenna Laroui, who denounced racist cyberharassment against X after leaving the French team for that of Algeria.
The National Center for Combating Online Hate of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office entrusted the investigations to the Central Office for Combating Hate Crimes. The 21-year-old gymnast’s complaint was filed for cyberharassment, public insults of a racist nature and incitement to hatred. It targets “dozens of distinct authors”, accused of having, “in a very short period of time”, fueled “a massive surge” of hateful messages – which characterizes, according to the complainant, “a digital pack phenomenon”.
Djenna Laroui is not the first gymnast to move from France to Algeria. Kaylia Nemour, who changed her sporting nationality in 2022 following a conflict between her club and the French Federation, is currently one of the biggest stars in gymnastics.
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She was crowned Olympic champion on the uneven bars in 2024 in Paris, giving Africa the first title in its history in gymnastics. She also became world champion on the uneven bars in 2025, still under the Algerian flag.
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