About
“La quenelle” is a gesture popularized by French/Cameroon comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala in his shows.
The gesture consists of having one arm pointing down while the opposite hand is held at the shoulder of the arm pointing down.
It is meant to be a gesture of anti-system but some people believe it to be anti-semetic as it resembles an inverted nazi salute.
Origin
The first time that Dieudonné made the gesture was in 2005 in his show “1905”. During one the sketches, he talks about how the mammals are observing the humans and that dolphins are mocking us. He does the gesture to show how deeps the dolphins will screw us with their fins.
Spread
For many years, people in the French speaking community have been taking pictures of themselves with the quenelle at famous places or next to celebrities. Even famous people do it like French football player Nicolas Anelka. During the year 2013 the numbers of pictures with people doing the quenelle increased fast.
The general population has been aware of this phenomenon recently as Manuel Valls, the French Minister of Interior, has recently started a war against the comedian and is trying to ban his current show Le Mur. This has begun in France a debate about what Manuel Valls is doing and if it’s against the liberty of expression or not.
Dieudonné
Dieudonné M’bala M’bala was born on the eleventh of February 1966 at Fontenay-aux-Roses. He gained notoriety in the 90’s when he was in a comical duo with Elie Semoun. Their partnership ended in 1997 and they both pursued a solo career.
He is the manager of the theatre La Main d’Or in Paris where he performs most of the time. Since his beginnings with Elie Semoun to this day he has written and performed in 18 shows.
At first a popular spokesperson against racism, he has himself been accused of racism since 2003 when he performed a sketch on a television show On ne peut pas plaire à tout le monde where he played as a Israeli settler.
Since this TV performance, his personality is at the centre of many debates. He is considered by some to be anti-semetic and persona non grata while others believe that he is victim of a system run by Zionist Lobbies.