Berliner Tageblatt - France's Zemmour fined 10,000 euros over claim WWII leader 'saved' Jews

Zemmour, head of the far-right Reconquest party, made the comments during a television debate in 2019. The claim is contested by most historians, who note the wartime leader's well-documented anti-Semitism.

Lower courts had in the past cleared Zemmour of the charges of denial of crimes against humanity. But the Court of Cassation, France's top court for questions on whether laws have been correctly applied, had overturned his acquittal and ordered a new trial.

On Wednesday, Zemmour, 66, was ordered to pay 10,000 euros for contesting crimes against humanity.

In a statement released after the ruling, Zemmour insisted that he had "at no time wished to 'defend Petain'" and said he would lodge an appeal.

In 2022, an appeals court ruled that while the remarks "may offend the families of deportees," they "are not intended to dispute or minimise, even marginally, the number of victims of deportation or the policy of extermination in the concentration camps".

That court pointed out that Petain, who headed the Vichy government during World War II, in collaboration with Nazi Germany, had not been convicted of "one or more crimes against humanity" but of "colluding with the enemy."

However, the Court of Cassation ruled that "the alleged remarks might constitute an offense, even if they relate to a public figure who has not been convicted of a crime against humanity".

Known as a commentator and writer with virulent anti-Islam views, Zemmour has several convictions for racist hate speech. He stood in 2022 presidential elections but was knocked out in the first round.

J.Horn--BTB