Éric Zemmour was found guilty on Wednesday of complicity in public defamation against LFI MP Danièle Obono and sentenced by the Paris Criminal Court to a suspended fine of 1,000 euros.
The publishing director of CNews, the channel on which the defamatory remarks against the parliamentarian were broadcast, was for his part found guilty of public defamation and sentenced to the same sentence as Zemmour.
The two men will also have to jointly pay 1,000 euros to Obono in damages.
Eventful show
The facts date back to August 2020. During the program “Face à l'info”, hosted by Éric Zemmour, the latter attacked Obono, caricatured as a slave a few days before the broadcast by the weekly far right Current Values.
The polemicist had accused the parliamentarian
“of refusing to say “Long live France” on television”
,
“of organizing meetings forbidden to whites”
and
“of saying all her love for Mohamed Merah, who kills Jewish children”
.
For the court, there is no
“factual basis”
to corroborate Zemmour’s assertions.
Therefore,
“the defendants will not be able to benefit from the excuse of good faith”
, underlined the 17th chamber of the Paris judicial court.
The court also ordered CNews to delete the video from the program
“Face à l'info” where the
“recognized defamatory”
comments were made
within 15 days of the date on which the court's decision became final.