Cassandre Fristot, teacher and ex-member of the FN, was to answer this Wednesday afternoon of "provocation to racial hatred" in front of the criminal court of Metz (Moselle) for having brandished an anti-Semitic sign during an anti-health pass demonstration early August.
Her trial finally opened without her, the teacher not having come.
The dissemination of a photo of the sign, proudly brandished by its author wearing a beret, had sparked an outcry in the political class and organizations fighting against racism and anti-Semitism.
One of his lawyers, Me François Wagner, explained at the opening of the trial on Wednesday that the young woman did not come because "she is the victim of threats: she was not going to come and expose herself".
The council also accused journalists of having wanted to "force" the door of his client.
"She received 50 calls from journalists."
In front of the court, about thirty supporters of the young 33-year-old woman chanted "Cassandra rightly" when they learned that there was no more room in the courtroom.
They also asked to remove the many journalists present to leave them seats, noted an AFP photographer.
To read also “She remains hidden”: what becomes of the teacher who held up an anti-Semitic sign during a demonstration?
Cassandre Fristot is assisted by Me Paul Yon, who has notably defended in the past Marine Le Pen, the town of Hayange led by the RN, and the negationist Robert Faurisson.
In total, 13 organizations became civil parties, including the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (Crif), Licra and SOS Racisme.
“The Crif notes that before the hatred was killed, and that now it is revealed.
Therefore, it comes under the law and must be punished, "David-Olivier Kaminski, lawyer for the organization, told AFP.
"Known for being part of the far right movement"
Cassandre Fristot, former local elected and former FN candidate in the 2012 legislative elections, was arrested after the opening of an investigation of flagrance by the Metz prosecutor's office the day after the demonstration.
The names of several politicians, businessmen and intellectuals, most of whom are Jewish, were targeted on this sign.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin denounced an “abject” sign and promised that this gesture would not go “unpunished”.
The Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer had announced to him that Cassandre Fristot would be "suspended pending disciplinary action".
This morning, the police arrested the young woman holding this sign.
https://t.co/QRDaXAd2sy
- Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) August 9, 2021
A German teacher, she taught as a substitute in several establishments in Moselle before her suspension. According to Metz public prosecutor Christian Mercuri, she is "known for belonging to the far right movement".
On the sign brandished at the Metz demonstration, the names inscribed framed the slogan "Mais qui?" »And the exclamation« Traitors !!! ". This slogan appeared following an interview granted in June on the CNews channel with a retired general, Daniel Delawarde, signatory of a column evoking “the disintegration” of France, published by the weekly Valeursuelles . To the question "who controls the
media pack
?" "And after several reminders, he replied" the community that you know well ", before being cut by the presenter, Jean-Marc Morandini.