There is no "commitment to freedom of speech" in France

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Here:

'Charlie Hebdo was free to plaster on newsstands all over Paris vivid cartoon depictions of Mohammed as an eager homosexual bottom, but five years ago when one of its cartoonists wrote an item suggesting that a son of the president was making a good career move by converting to Judaism he was summarily fired and put on trial for “inciting racial hatred.” Literally, put on trial. The country of Voltaire, yup.'

Comments

  1. Crosbie3:12 PM

    The link to the Telegraph there is broken. It is 'French cartoonist Sine on trial on charges of anti-Semitism over Sarkozy jibe' Hard to make out from that story what happened - it says 'The plaintiff is the anti-racism and anti-Semitism group, Licra'. So was it a private prosecution?

    From Wikipedia: Both sides subsequently filed lawsuits, and in December 2010, Siné won a 40,000-euro court judgment against his former publisher for wrongful termination.

    ReplyDelete
  2. djf5:09 PM

    Meanwhile, synagogues in Paris were closed the Saturday after the attacks, while mosques remained open. Go figure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Olivier Braun2:09 AM

    I agree that free speech in France is very selective, but the McConnel article you link to is very misleading about France. I am affraid it is deliberate, but it could be because of the author is blinded by his anti-zionism. I have commented there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ken B11:06 AM

    "PARIS (AP) -- France ordered prosecutors around the country Wednesday to crack down on hate speech, anti-Semitism and glorifying terrorism, announcing that 54 people had been arrested for those offenses since the Paris terror attacks.

    The order came as Charlie Hebdo's defiant new issue sold out before dawn around Paris, with scuffles at kiosks over dwindling copies of the satirical newspaper fronting the Prophet Muhammad.

    Like many European countries, France has strong laws against hate speech and especially anti-Semitism in the wake of the Holocaust. In a message distributed to all French prosecutors and judges, the Justice Ministry laid out the legal basis for rounding up those who defend the Paris terror attacks as well as those responsible for racist or anti-Semitic words or acts.

    Among those detained was Dieudonne, a controversial, popular comic with repeated convictions for racism and anti-Semitism."


    One French leftist I argued with said free speech in France is quite clear. "You can say whatever you want, unless it's illegal." Cannot make this stuff up.

    ReplyDelete

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