• Alain Bénard received a three-month suspended sentence for ‘public incitement to discrimination’ after Facebook posts targeting Muslims on the French island.
• The court stressed that a former elected official must set an example.
The former mayor of Saint-Paul (Réunion), Alain Bénard, was handed a three-month suspended prison sentence on Friday. The conviction was for ‘public incitement to discrimination based on origin, ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion.’ He must also pay one symbolic euro in damages to the civil parties.
Bénard, a leading figure of the Réunionese Republican right and mayor from 1999 to 2008, was found guilty over remarks on social media aimed at the island’s Muslim community. He did not attend the final hearing, citing health problems. Through his lawyer, he said ‘I offer my most profound and sincere apologies (for the comments)’.
The case stemmed from Facebook posts published on 15th March. In them, he claimed that ‘All Muslims on the island’ had become fundamentalists, ‘like all Muslims worldwide.’ The Regional Council of the Muslim Faith of Réunion (CRCM) denounced the statements, calling them unacceptable.
Bénard went further: ‘They no longer want to integrate. They want to impose their laws and codes on us. In canteens, swimming pools, cemeteries… They should leave.’
In its ruling, the court stressed that a former elected official of the Republic must set an example. Prosecutors had asked for a €5,000 fine, including €1,000 suspended, and the public posting of the verdict for one month.
