Eric Zemmour convicted for calling child migrants 'rapists'
3 Min Read
A French court has served some justice, convicting the French presidential candidate of hate speech and fining him 10,000 euros.
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Eric Zemmour; racist, ableist, misogynist - only so far.
On Monday, a French court found the far-right candidate for the French presidency Eric Zemmour guilty of racist hate speech, referring to an angry tirade on television on unaccompanied child migrants.
In September 2020, Zemmour, on CNews, said that child migrants were "thieves, killers, they're rapists. That's all they are. We should send them back."
Zemmour did not go to court to hear the verdict, skipping his trial in November. He was fined 10,000 euros paying 100 euros over 100 days - he is threatened to go to jail if he does not pay up.
Read more: Who is Eric Zemmour? Meet the French Donald Trump
Lately, the far-right candidate hasn't been too lucky at gathering endorsements from elected officials in order to qualify for the April presidential vote. To save his name on the election ballot, he will need 500 endorsements.
Olivier Pardo, Zemmour's lawyer, called the verdict "ideological and stupid" and "contrary to free speech and democratic debate, promising that he will appeal it, according to a statement on Monday. "This is the condemnation of a free spirit by a judicial system that has been invaded by the ideologues," he said.
He continued, "The truth is that these isolated minors who are very often neither minors nor isolated are characterized by their strong tendency towards delinquency or even criminal acts," he added. "As French citizens, we must demand the right to talk about this question."
Zemmour has 2 previous convictions for hate speech and has been investigated 16 times on racist remarks on immigration and Islam. In 2011, Zemmour was fined 10,000 euros for saying "most drug dealers are black and Arab" on television. In 2018, Zemmour was required to pay 3,000 euros for comments regarding a Muslim "invasion" of France.
Not only migrant children, but also children with disability
Recently, Eric Zemmour demanded that children with disabilities be accommodated in "specialized establishments", instead of being included with other children.
In a meeting with teachers in Honnecourt-sur-Escaut, on January 14, Zemmour encouraged separating children with disabilities from the rest of the children, under the pretext that "the obsession with inclusion" is a "bad way" for the other children.
His statements sparked a wave of condemnation in France, as the Secretary of State for Disability Sophie Cluzel criticized what she described as a "pathetic" statement and condemned the "miserable" and "exclusive" vision of disability.
"Of course it’s complicated, but it’s really an honor for France to be able to educate these children with others, among others,” she commented.
Damien Abad, head of the LR deputies with a disability himself, condemned Zemmour's "scandalous" remarks and demanded a public apology.
Communist candidate Fabien Roussel said he was "revolted by the proposal" and compared it to a call for an "apartheid society," while right-wing candidate Valerie Pecresse reprimanded the "brutality" of Eric Zemmour's remarks.
