An activist of the Nice left announced Monday, November 23 to appeal his sentence of 7,800 euros in fine for comments deemed defamatory on corruption and patronage in Nice which had earned him a subpoena from Mayor LR Christian Estrosi.
The Nice judicial court had also condemned David Nakache, president of the association Tous Citoyens !, to reimburse 2,600 euros in legal costs, in a decision rendered Thursday.
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On December 4, 2019, a few months before the municipal elections, Mr. Nakache congratulated himself on Twitter on the choice of a lawyer at the head of the leftist list “
Viva
”, saying he hoped “to put
an end to patronage and corruption in Nice
”, without specifically citing the mayor of the city.
“
It was a global statement to say that we do not fight enough against corruption in Nice and to criticize the fact that we honor corrupt personalities with street names, such as Jacques Chirac, Charles Pasqua and Jacques Médecin who were condemned
", Had defended before the judgment Mr. Nakache to AFP.
Mr. Estrosi had just renamed a street in homage to the historic former mayor of Nice, Jacques Médecin, who died in Uruguay after spending two years in prison in France for embezzlement.
Mr. Nakache had received many supports from the left while the extreme right had also accused the mayor of wanting to muzzle the debates in the city by bringing an opponent to justice.
For Mr. Estrosi, Mr. Philippe Blanchetier had denounced in court “
a culture of buzz
” and justified the prosecution by explaining that Mr. Nakache's tweet was defamatory because it implied that changing the mayor would put an end to corruption and patronage. Nice.
