Belgium's media and political class on Friday called for change after two high-profile cases of racism rocked the kingdom, raising troubling questions about white attitudes a few weeks before local elections.
The incidents involve Cecile Djunga, a weather presenter with state broadcaster RTBF, who published a video online this week after more than a year of racist abuse; and a report by VRT television about a Flemish far-right group whose leader has warned members to "be ready for combat."
Its chief editorialist wrote: "We can't kick this into the long grass anymore. Cecile Djunga's cry for help and the VRT report make it clear: great danger lies ahead and it's urgent to respond."
Francken told RTBF Friday that he was shocked by the report. He said he knew of the group, "but I didn't know that there were such extreme elements in this organization."
Asked whether his migration policies contribute to such attitudes, Francken said: "Racism is for idiots and all those people who think I'm a hero and who do these kinds of things, write these kinds of things, are idiots."