[imagesource: Videograb]

An exclusive and high-end restaurant in the Champs-Élysées area of Paris has come under fire after being caught up in a racism scandal.

Manko restaurant was outright refusing black patrons entry despite them being appropriately dressed, which a viral TikTok video has proven.

The fancy restaurant has been accused of discriminatory practices many times before – which is not all that novel in Paris, it turns out – but this recent example of prejudice has gained major traction after being picked up by major media outlets.

The damning video, which has more than 860 000 views, was posted on July 19 by Tigui Diallo, a Montrealer in the company of three other black women who were ready for their reservation at the restaurant.

Despite having a booking, they were still refused access to Manko:

@tiguiidialloMy first experience of Racism at the restaurant Manko in Paris. Am just gonna let this here and go on with my life.♬ son original – tiguidiallo

Robb Report investigated the extent of the situation, bringing a black couple from Nice, Tatiana Tavares and Bryan Macauley, into the fold as they were there the night the TikTok video was filmed.

Diallo and her gal pals, along with Tavares, Macauley, and a number of other black people were all refused entry under the pretext of violating the dress code.

But at around the 37-second mark in the TikTok video, a white woman wearing a black T-shirt, black jeans, and black sneakers can be seen gliding past the bouncers making everyone question the veracity of this excuse:

In France, the video has ignited a controversy. The story made headlines in every major news outlet from Le Parisien to Le Monde and Le Figaro. What has struck a nerve is that this isn’t a one-off incident of racism; it’s the latest in a series of accusations of discrimination involving high-end restaurants in the same Champs-Élysées area.

…The affair caught the attention of both Paris police, which has opened an investigation into the incident, and a politician who demanded answers from the restaurant on Twitter and announced that he has filed a complaint to the administrative body Defender of Rights.

Interestingly, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck reportedly dined at the trendy Peruvian restaurant a few days after the TikTok video went viral:

The four women from the video filed a criminal complaint against the restaurant.

The bouncer from the video, identified as Damian, spoke out in an interview with BFTMV saying that “it was the restaurant policy”:

…the security guard shared how management devised workarounds to the problem [its already long rap sheet when it comes to accusations of racism].

“They said, we’re going to be smarter about it. For all the Africans, we’re going to use a pretext, like if they’re wearing sneakers, they can’t come in, and if they’re not wearing a dress shirt, say it’s because they’re wearing a T-shirt.”

The restaurant’s website includes two lines about the dress code: “Elegant dress of rigor. The management reserves the right to entry.”

 

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A post shared by Damian Dominiq Mac (@damian.d.mac)

Damian has been fired, and revealed his true feelings about the situation on his Instagram (in French, so we will provide the translation below):

“I’m just a poor guy who followed orders like a soldier,” he says in the video.

“I’m not racist. I was raised with Africans, with North Africans, I adore this population. They’re kind, they’re authentic, real real real people. I love people like this.”

Manko general director Tony Gomez said the only reason a person will be refused entry is for not adhering to the dress code, saying that he was “outraged” when saw the video footage, describing the woman as being “everything I love”.

But Tavares and Macauley argued that the managers were present during the unfortunate exchanges and did nothing to intervene, defending themselves by claiming that there were plenty of black people inside.

[source:robbreport]