France / Court of cassation / Decision No. 15-83070 ECLI:FR:CCASS:2013:CR03515

Country

France

Title

France / Court of cassation / Decision No. 15-83070

ECLI:FR:CCASS:2013:CR03515

View full Case

Year

2016

Decision/ruling/judgment date

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Incident(s) concerned/related

Incitement to violence or hatred

Related Bias motivation

Religion

Groups affected

Muslims

Court/Body type

National Court

Court/Body

Court of cassation (Cour de cassation)

Key facts of the case

Upon the request of the public ministry, Mr. X. was ordered to appear before the criminal court because of the remarks he made on 18 December 2010 at a public meeting called 'International meetings on the Islamization of our countries'. The criminal court found him guilty of the offence of inciting discrimination, hatred or violence towards a group of people on the grounds of their membership of a given religion. The ruling of the Court of Appeal upheld this judgement on 9 April 2015, in sentencing Mr. X. to a €4000 fine.

Main reasoning/argumentation

The Court of cassation upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal according to which the remarks of Mr. X. were aimed at all immigrants of the Islamic religion and led to, both in their meaning and their scope, inciting others to discrimination, hatred or violence. These remarks, under the pretext of a legitimate debate on the consequences of immigration and the place of Islam in France, presented all the members of the group thus concerned, as being part of 'banditry' and the 'organized crime', as criminals colonizing and controlling France through violence, and claimed that this situation could not be left to 'police action or that of the courts', since the laws and the institutions charged with upholding the law were powerless to protect the 'independence of the country' and the 'freedom of the people'.

Is the case related to the application of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, the Racial Equality Directive?

Key issues (concepts, interpretations) clarified by the case

Actions constituting the offence of incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence with regard to a person or of a group of people on grounds of their origin or their membership or their non-membership of an ethnic group, a nation, a race or a given religion.

Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case

The Court of cassation upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal which sentenced Mr. X. to a €4000 fine.

Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details

"…Propos poursuivis … visaient l'ensemble des immigrés de religion musulmane, …lesdits propos, au prétexte d'un débat légitime sur les conséquences de l'immigration et la place de l'islam en France, en ce qu'ils présentaient tous les membres du groupe ainsi visé, assimilé au " grand banditisme " et au " crime organisé ", comme des délinquants colonisant et asservissant la France par la violence, … tendaient, tant par leur sens que par leur portée, à provoquer autrui à la discrimination, à la haine ou à la violence."

"… Continuing remarks…aimed at all Muslim immigrants, … the aforementioned remarks, under the pretext of a legitimate debate on the consequences of immigration and the place of Islam in France, in which they presented all the members of the group thus concerned as being involved in 'large-scale banditry' and 'organised crime', like criminals colonizing and enslaving France by violence,… were likely, both in their meaning and their scope, to incite others to discrimination, hatred or violence"

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