France's National Assembly on Friday issued a 15-day suspension to a far-right MP who shouted "go back to Africa" while a Black colleague spoke about stranded migrants.

The parliament also punished Gregoire de Fournas of Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) party with a cut of half his compensation for two months.

"We must not fragilize our democracy," said National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet. She ordered the de Fournas to leave the parliament's premises.

It was the second time in the history of France's Fifth Republic, established in 1958, that a lawmaker had received such a rebuke.

The far-right MP later denied he was addressing leftist Carlos Martens Bilongo of the France Unbowed party, saying Thursday's outburst was directed at migrants stranded on a rescue ship. In French, the words "he," "they" and "it" are pronounced identically.

Torn between joy and sadness

Bilongo was challenging the government over its approach to the people on the stranded rescue boat when the comment was made. The vessel is carrying hundreds of passengers in the Mediterranean Sea and NGOs have urged the French government to intervene with a solution.

De Fournas continued to stress he wasn't targeting his colleague but the migrants at sea.

"I fully stand by my comments about the anarchic migratory policies of our country,'' he tweeted on Friday.

On Friday, Bilongo said the comment left him "deeply hurt."

"I'm torn between joy and sadness,'' the AP news agency quoted him as saying. "Because I received many messages of support overnight ... because I see all these faces here showing solidarity with me.''

Bilongo took part in protests held outside the National Assembly ahead of Friday's session.

Condemnation continues

Reactions to le Fournas' comment have continued to pour in.

Both President Emmanuel Macron and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin expressed their "shock."

French anti-racism groups condemned the comment regardless of the target. The group SOS Racisme described it as "the true face of the far-right: that of racism."

The Movement against Racism and for Friendship between People also said the comment revealed the essence of the RN's "deeply racist and xenophobic" nature despite efforts to normalize the party.

Le Pen's RN party has historically been accused of espousing racist, antisemitic and anti-Islam policies, particularly when it was led by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen. Although in recent years, Marie Le Pen has sought to somewhat soften her party's hardline image over immigration in a bid to woo more voters.

rmt/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)