The European Court of Human Rights rejected the appeal of former French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who was convicted in France for “inciting discrimination and religious hatred” over comments targeting the French Muslim community.
“The court held that the interference with the applicant’s right to freedom of expression had been necessary in a democratic society to protect the rights of others that were at stake,” the ECHR wrote in a statement released Tuesday.
Zemmour’s statements “contained derogatory and discriminatory claims of a kind that might exacerbate a rift between French people and the Muslim community as a whole,” the court noted.
In a live appearance on French TV show “C à Vous” in September 2016, Zemmour, who was promoting his new book at the time, claimed that “those who wage jihads” were seen by all Muslims as “good Muslims.”
He claimed France was witnessing “an invasion” with “countless neighborhoods … where many young women are veiled,” and said that French Muslims should “be given a choice between Islam and France.”
“So, if they’re French … they have to let go of what their religion is.”
The Frenchman was sued and convicted by a Parisian criminal court in 2017, which fined him €5,000 for “inciting discrimination, hatred or violence against a group on grounds of their origin or membership of a religion,” according to the ECHR statement.
The fine was reduced to €3,000 on appeal.
Zemmour then moved France’s highest court, arguing that his comments fell within the scope of freedom of expression. When this first claim was rejected, he appealed to the ECHR.
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