On Christmas Day, the owner of an Airbnb rental in Annecy refuses to rent her apartment to a family of Mulhouse when she sees them arriving. Sebti Bouadjadja, the father of the family, claims to be the victim of discrimination. He filed a complaint.

The story dates back to December 25, 2021. Sebti Bouadjadja is the head of two companies in Mulhouse. His mother, suffering from Parkinson’s disease and victim of several strokes, morals at half mast: he misses his sister and her son, settled in Annecy.

To bring her a little balm to her heart, Sebti Bouadjadja decides to take her to Haute-Savoie so that she can see her loved ones. He reserves an apartment for 4 people with the Airbnb platform, taking care to find a mother of an elevator because he is unable to climb a staircase.

The family left Mulhouse around 5 p.m. and arrived in Annecy four hours later. The rental owner joins them on site to make an inventory. Sebti Bouadjadja hears him mutter: “I no longer lacked that I had to rent to the TalibanShaken, he decides despite everything to turn a deaf ear, in a hurry to install the mother so that she can rest from the journey.

As the site visit begins, the owner suddenly turns around and says: “Finally I don’t feel you, I cancel!” Shocked, the Mulhouse entrepreneur recalls that her bank account was debited with the 460 euros requested, that she validated the reservation and “that she has no right to do that!” For him, it is a “Facies offense, racism. She saw my mom with her scarf on her head and she suddenly changed her mind”.

Sebti Bouadjadja films the owner calling the Aibnb platform. On the video, we hear him say “Madam, she is racist, she does not want to rent her Airbnb when we have booked. We paid. Madam, she saw our face (…) I am filming you, Madam, I am a victim of xenophobia and racism. I’m going to put this on social media so everyone can see that you’re a racist and don’t want to rent an apartment to an Arab “.

The owner of the premises denies it, while hiding her face with her mask. The crestfallen tenant calls the police. Two agents are on site within five minutes: they listen to both parties and collect each other’s version.

In the meantime, Airbnb cancels its reservation. Cornered, the Mulhousiens family will spend the night with Sebti Bouadjadja’s brother. The two men will have to carry their mother to access the second floor of this building without an elevator.

The elderly lady did not understand anything about what is being done; on the other hand, his son entrepreneur is shocked. “I consider myself to be French. France has taught me so much. I had a good education, good medical follow-up. I understood that to be successful you had to be an entrepreneur. I am an entrepreneur. I have two companies and I ’employs 15 people. I have never been a victim of racism, I have felt humiliated like never before. Extreme humiliation “.

Especially since his 14-year-old son attended the scene: “What do I say to him? How can I explain that there are people who, because we are swarthy, think we are scum!” The same evening, he posted his video and the story of his mishap on social networks.

Everything is racing, thousands of shares, taken over by TikTok, Twitter, etc. He is contacted by many media. For his part, contacts his lawyer. Maître Rayan Zaien files a complaint with the Annecy public prosecutor against the owner “for acts of racial discrimination and non-public insults, on grounds of origin or religion” committed against the Mulhouse family.

On December 26, Airbnb reimburses the 460 euros of the rental. The platform address an email December 30, 2021 to the business manager: “Based on the evidence provided, we have determined that the reported issue violates Airbnb’s non-discrimination policy.” She specifies that the owner has been informed and that “all of its announcements as well as its ability to make reservations on Airbnb have been suspended.”

Sebti Bouadjadja does not wait particularly money from this eventual procedure. “Anyway, if I had to touch it, I would donate it to an association”. On his Facebook account, on the evening of December 31, 2021, he thanked all those who supported him: “It is thanks to this enormous outpouring of solidarity that we have succeeded in making things happen and that without malice”. He will remember from this case that “the French institution remains uncompromising with racism”. Still happy.