Paris estate agent advertises flat with 'no blacks' allowed

Levallois-Perret say a 'naive' staff member had copied out what a homeowner had said 'without knowing'

The advert was for a flat in the Parisian suburb of Levallois-Perret (Tonya Bielhessen/Creative Commons)

A Parisian estate agency has been accused of racism after it specified “no blacks” on a rental advert.

Laforêt advertised for the apartment in the Levallois-Perret suburb of the capital but warned that the renter must be a French national and “no blacks” were allowed.

A potential renter spotted the advert in late November and shared it on Twitter, asking if it was legal.

When he received little response, he tweeted it again on Boxing Day at several leading French human rights groups, journalists and politicians asking “what kind of criteria is that?”

The estate agency apologised for the advert saying a “naive” employee, who no longer works at the company, had simply transcribed what the homeowner said “without knowing”.

Agency head Laurent Balestra told France Info that the incident had “shocked” him and it was the homeowner who was “racist”.

He said “When owners are racist, I give my staff instructions not to take their bookings. You cannot afford racism in this area”.

It comes amid rising tensions in France following several years terror attacks by Isis militants in Paris and Nice.

Far-right political parties, such as the Front National, have been gaining significant ground in the polls while calling for an end to immigration and a referendum on EU membership.

The FN’s leader, Marine Le Pen, looks set to make it into the run-off for next year’s presidential election as the ruling Socialist party looks set to falter following the unpopular tenure of Francois Hollande.

The country was embroiled in a xenophobia row after several southern towns and cities banned Burkinis from beaches following the Nice terror attack in July where 84 people were killed by lorry which ploughed into the Bastille Day crowd.

The French Supreme Court later ruled it was a violation of Muslim women’s fundamental liberties.

But former President Nicolas Sarkozy poured fuel on the fire by promising to ban burkinis if he was returned to office as the Republicans’ presidential nominee for 2017 – but later lost to his former deputy Francois Fillon.