France threatens to boycott Eurovision over Israeli TV show depicting French contestant as terrorist
France has reportedly threatened to boycott the Eurovision song contest in protest over an Israeli television series which portrays France’s entry in the popular competition as a terrorist.
Set to air in May, the three-part series called ‘Douze Points’ (‘twelve points’ in French, the highest score you can receive at Eurovision) is about a French-Algerian Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorist posing as a gay man who manages to secure a place in the high-profile international song contest – ostensibly in hopes of carrying out a heinous terrorist attack live on television. The program will air the same week as Eurovision 2019, which is being hosted by Israel.
The fictional Israeli series has apparently rubbed French authorities the wrong way – perhaps because France will be represented this year by Bilal Hassani, a gay Muslim.
The French broadcasting authority has warned the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation against airing “Douze Points”, threatening to boycott Eurovision in retaliation, according to Israeli media.
While the television show appears to be a crude spoof on Hassani, there’s ample evidence to suggest that France’s feud with Israel’s public broadcaster may be the result of a remarkable coincidence.
The fictional series was written last year – immediately after Israel’s Netta Barzilai won the last Eurovision contest in Lisbon – and has already entered its final editing stages.
Hassani, however, was crowned France’s representative to the song competition less than a month ago, after winning France’s Destination Eurovision contest on January 26.
In an interview with Haaretz, the series’ creators said that the show was a comedy meant to poke fun at Israel and its security services, not France.
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