‘WON’T SHUT ME UP’

Far-Right French Presidential Candidate Fined €100 for 100 Days After Being Convicted of Racist Hate Speech

Éric Zemmour was engulfed in a firestorm in 2020 after saying migrant children were “thieves, killers, they’re rapists. That’s all they are. We should send them back.”

A far-right, anti-immigrant firebrand has been found guilty of inciting racial hatred after a 2020 television appearance where he said migrant children were “thieves, killers, they’re rapists.” Éric Zemmour, who is running in France’s presidential elections this year, then added, “That’s all they are. We should send them back.” On Monday, a French court fined him €10,000, which he will have to pay out in daily installments of €100 over 100 days. Zemmour has stood by his comments, calling the court’s ruling “ideological and stupid” in a statement, referring to himself as a “free spirit.” The journalist, author, and pundit has two prior convictions for hate speech. In 2011, he claimed on TV that “most drug dealers are Black and Arab,” resulting in a fine of €10,000. Seven years later, his references to a Muslim “invasion” of France led to a €3,000 fine. His remarks on immigration and Islam have prompted, in total, 16 separate investigations. Zemmour dismissed the court’s case against him last year, saying it was “nothing other than an attempt to intimidate me,” and adding that “they won’t shut me up.”