The activist, notorious for her anti-police and anti-racism views, had a spat with protesters who staged a demonstration to raise awareness to the predicament cultural institutions are in. In another incident, the activist came into the spotlight for violating the curfew when she wanted to visit her criminal brother who had been taken to hospital. Police had to intervene and restore order.

In France, as in many other European countries, theatres and other cultural venues have been closed for months now. A movement launched recently intends to raise awareness to the demand of reopening those. On 4 March, technicians, drama students, and artists occupied the Odeon Theatre in Paris and more than 30 institutions across the country. Protesters wanted to throw light on the predicament of cultural institutions stemming from the measures and closures imposed because of the coronavirus.

For some reason or other, Assa Traore, sister of Adama Traore – a multiple criminal who died after his arrest in 2016 and is often referred to as the French George Floyd – also felt obliged to identify with the cause and showed up outside the Odeon Theatre to stand up for French culture. However, she was in for a surprise. 

A man protesting for the reopening of theatres gave the activist a piece of his mind first telling Assa Traore that she was an anti-French and anti-white racist, who did not love France. Then, in a rather inappropriate language, he called her an „a..hole” and told her to go back to Mali.

Assa Traore retorted by calling the man a racist, and working herself into a fury, began to shout inarticulately, without wearing a mask, right into the face of protesters demonstrating outside the theatre.

Assa Traore, who otherwise seizes every opportunity to advocate her anti-police views, this time turned to the officers at the scene for help, claiming that she had been the target of far-right racist insults and demanding that the police arrest the man. She was explaining the situation with such a fervour that her mask slipped off her face, but she failed in her efforts: police removed the man in question from the crowd, but eventually let him go free.

This was tweeted by Taha Bouhafs, a journalist and activist who openly sympathizes with the Traore Committee. He is also very close to Assa Traore, so much so that they spent their holiday together on the Riviera in August.

There is no word about whether Assa Traore was fined by the police for failing to wear a mask, but the current rules in France make it mandatory to wear a mask in public. Failing to do so is punishable with a fine of 135 euros.

It was not the only offense Assa Traore has committed in the past few days. The weekly Valeurs actuelles reports that she and eight members of the committee have been fined for violating the curfew.

They broke the rules because one of Assa s brothers, Bagoui – who has been in prison since Adama s death in 2016 for attempted murder against a public official – fell ill in prison and had to be taken to hospital, and the committee members went to visit him.

Assa Traore posted a video on Twitter (in which she appeared without a mask yet again), and announced that her younger brother had been in the hospital for days and the family learnt about it from other inmates. Assa also reported that the prison management had allegedly threatened the inmates who notified her and banned them from providing any information to the family about the condition of Bagoui Traore, who was allegedly in ICU. Assa said she would not leave the entrance of the prison until she s told what happened to her brother and which hospital he had been taken to.

It later turned out that Bagoui had been taken to a hospital in a town called Le Chesnay in Yvelines County, close to the capital. Assa went there, but the hospital staff did not allow the visit. Several police officers went to the scene as they feared a riot, and Bagoui was transferred to another hospital. Assa Traore and eight members of the Adama Committee were identified and fined for violating the curfew, as they were on the street shortly before midnight, when the current rules ban anyone to be outdoors without permission.