France’s far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour has been convicted of hate speech and is being fined €10,000 ($11,390). Zemmour made the controversial comments in 2020, when, in a TV appearance, he called unaccompanied immigrant rapists, thieves and murderers.
Zemmour is known for his anti-Islam, anti-immigrant stance and his comments have often been described as inflammable. Zemmour’s lawyer said that they would be contesting the verdict. Reacting to the verdict on social media, Zemmour complained that his freedom of speech was being restricted, and said there was an "urgent need to drive ideology out of the courts,” a BBC report reads.
In 2020, while commenting on a knife attack by a Pakistani immigrant, Zemmour had said, “They must be sent back and they must not even come." Zemmour has been convicted for hate speech twice before. The former journalist and author Zemmour seeks to challenge President Emmanuel Macaron in the upcoming elections in April.
