French presidential candidate Zemmour found guilty of racial hatred

This is the third time Zemmour has been convicted of discrimination and hate speech. This time it is about his statements on the far-right commercial channel CNews. There, in September 2020, Zemmour was talking about unaccompanied minor migrants who according to him “have no place here, they are thieves, they are murderers, they are rapists, that’s all they are, they should be fired and they shouldn’t even come.” ‘.

Just like during the hearing last November, Zemmour was not present at the verdict. In response to the condemnation, he spoke of an ideological and foolish condemnation against “a free spirit”. He had previously called the case an attempted intimidation. His attorney said Zemmour would appeal the decision.

Zemmour’s statements to CNews caused a storm of anger at the time, and the station was fined. Despite this, it continued to give Zemmour plenty of room to spread his provocative message about immigration and Islam. Founded by French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, the station’s mission is to provide a counterpoint to the “left” media landscape. Zemmour remained a distinguished guest there, as a regular face on the daily news show Facing the news. Last September, he was finally withdrawn from the channel by order of the audiovisual council CSA because of his political role – during an election period, the airtime must be shared equally between the candidates.

Previous convictions

Zemmour has been prosecuted 15 times in recent years, with two prior convictions. It was in 2011, when he was also fined 10,000 euros after saying on television that workers “have the right” to refuse to hire “blacks and Arabs”. And in 2018, when he was fined 3,000 euros after making statements about an “invasion” of Muslims in France.

Another case involving the far-right presidential candidate will follow on Thursday. This time it is about his declarations on Philippe Pétain, the head of the Vichy regime, who collaborated with the Nazis. Zemmour said that Pétain protected French Jews by expelling most non-French Jews – claims that have been contradicted by historians and have come under heavy criticism.