Court Upholds Ban on Controversial French Comedian

French comic Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, who is considered anti-Semitic was banned from performing Thursday night just hours after a court in Nantes said he could go ahead with his show.

The French government had ordered a ban on Dieudonné's shows saying he is a threat to public order as he was convicted of inciting racial hatred and anti-Semitism six times before.

The Court, however, ruled that "planned demonstrations, which can be contained by normal means, do not justify pulling the curtains on the show."

Lawyer Jacques Verdier said "The show will go on tonight."

Dieudonne says he will fight each of the eight cities who have banned the performance.

Boycotted by most media, but active on the internet and in his Parisian theater, Dieudonné has continued to have a wide appeal. Dieudonné initially achieved success with a Jewish comedian, Élie Semoun, humorously exploiting racial stereotypes. At that time, he campaigned against racism and unsuccessfully presented himself in the 1997 and 2001 legislative elections in Dreux against theNational Front, a party which he perceived as racist. Dieudonné was then a famous comedian and actor, acting in popular comedies such as Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.

Dieudonné M'bala M'bala was born in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of a white French painter and retired sociologist from Brittany who exhibits as a painter under the name Josiane Grué, and a black accountant from Ekoudendi, Cameroon. His parents divorced when he was one, and he was brought up by his mother. He attended Catholic school, though his mother was a New Age Buddhist.[13] Dieudonné lives with Noémie Montagne who works as his producer, and has five children with her.