On Monday, far-right French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour was ordered to pay $11,000 for inciting hatred and racial abuse. During a September 2020 programme on CNews television channel, Zemmour characterised unaccompanied migrant children as “thieves,” “rapists” and “murderers.”
Paris judges have just convicted Éric Zemmour, candidate to become President of France this April, of inciting racial hatred by calling child immigrants 'thieves, rapists, murderers’. It's Zemmour's third racism conviction. If he refuses to pay a €10000 fine, he goes to prison.
— Peter Allen (@peterallenparis) January 17, 2022
Zemmour said, “They have nothing to do here, they are thieves, they are murderers, they are rapists, that’s all they are. They must be sent back, and they must not even come.” He further called it a “permanent invasion” and “a problem of immigration policy.”
Zemmour skipped the trial in November and was also absent during Monday’s ruling. About Monday’s ruling, Zemmour said he would appeal against it. Reacting to the decision, Zemmour, in a tweet, said, “We want the end of this system which every day tightens the tourniquet on freedom of expression and democratic debate. This system manufactures crime of opinion in an industrial way. There is an urgent need to drive ideology out of the courts. Justice must become Justice again.”
Nous voulons la fin de ce système qui resserre chaque jour le garrot sur la liberté d’expression et le débat démocratique. Ce système fabrique du délit d’opinion de manière industrielle. Il est urgent de chasser l’idéologie des tribunaux. La justice doit redevenir la Justice. pic.twitter.com/KDyXiFK0oj
— Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) January 17, 2022
A representative of the public prosecutor’s office called Zemmour’s comment outrageous that showed violent rejection and detestation of the migrant community. The representative further added that Zemmour’s comments had crossed the limits of freedom of expression.
Furthermore, the public prosecutor demanded that Zemmour be fined a total of $11,000 or be imprisoned if he fails to pay. Additionally, the public prosecutor office also requested a fine of $5,703 for the director of the CNews television channel. The director was also tried alongside Zemmour as is customary in press trials.
The plaintiffs in the case were a group of charities and human rights organisations, which included SOS Racisme, the League of Human Rights (LDH), the Licra, and department councils that deal with unaccompanied child migrants. They pleaded that news channels should also be held accountable as inciting hatred and hate speech forms the foundation of their business. A lawyer for LDH, Arié Alimi, said, “The reaction and sentencing is an important decision because behind this media project, there is a political project, a project of hatred that tends to stigmatise people because of their origin, their religion, their race.”
Defending Zemmour, his lawyer Olivier Pardo said, “There is not an ounce of racism in Eric Zemmour.” He added that his client was just stating reality, sometimes brutally. Defending his client’s September 2020 comments, Pardo said the remarks amounted to a political stance. Moreover, he also argued that the charge of inciting hatred is not valid since unaccompanied minors are neither a race, a nation or an ethnic group.
Over the past decade, Zemmour has been prosecuted at least 15 times for inciting hatred, racial abuse and denying a crime against humanity. He has previously been convicted twice for inciting hatred.
Mes adversaires défendent les délinquants étrangers contre les Français innocents. Je défends les Français innocents contre les délinquants étrangers. Ni la justice, ni les politiciens, ni les médias : personne ne me fera taire.
— Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) January 17, 2022
Moreover, on Thursday, Zemmour will also be tried on an appeal for disputing crimes against humanity after stating that Marshal Philippe Pétain had saved French Jews in October 2019 on CNews. In February 2021, a court discharged him, saying that the remarks were made “out of the blue” while discussing the war in Syria. Reportedly, Zemmour’s lawyers are considering asking for a postponement of Thursday’s hearing since less than three months remain before the first round of the presidential elections. Additionally, the court on Friday decided that Zemmour would be tried in May 2023 for making defamatory comments on the feminist and LGBT movement in 2019.