Pizza Owner Charged With Discrimination (against French and Germans)

AP ^ | April 23, 2003

[Shermy]

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - The owner of a Danish pizzeria who refused to serve German and French tourists was charged with discrimination Wednesday.

Aage Bjerre, who owns a pizzeria on Denmark's Fanoe island, was investigated by police after he began refusing to serve tourists from Germany and France in February because of their countries' lack of support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq. He called them "anti-American."

No date for his trial was set, but if found guilty, he could be fined $735, said Esbjerg Deputy Chief Constable Steen Boejlund.

Bjerre was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but in an interview with The Associated Press in February, he chided France and Germany for not supporting the United States.

He displayed two homemade pictograms on the shop door, much like the ones that show the outline of a dog or a cigarette with a bar across it.

One featured the silhouette of a man colored red, yellow and black — the colors of the German flag. The second was painted blue, white and red — the French Tricolor. Both silhouettes had a bar across each man.

The island, 200 miles southwest of the capital, Copenhagen, is a popular spot for visitors from neighboring Germany. Of the approximately 100,000 tourists who come, some 60 percent are German. The others are mostly Scandinavians and Dutch.

There are few French visitors to the island, which has a year-round population of 3,300.

[Shermy]

Ping.

[Shermy]

Ping.

[Black Agnes]

ping.

[Badray]

Aage, How long to deliver a double pepperoni pizza? To Pittsbugh, PA. USA

[SouthernFreebird]

He should of took their money and spit on their pizza ;)

[boxerblues]

LOL...it'd be worth it to pay the dang fine

[freedomlover]

I will be glad to ante up 1/10 of his fine if we can get FR to send him a check.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

Now, HERE's a friggen surprise. I'm sure the businesses boycotting Americans and British will meet with the same fate...yeah, right. Nothing will happen to them, any Europeans want to tell me I'm wrong??

[American Soldier]

Can somebody who speaks the language try and track this place down using an online directory? I would like to send him a check. He can keep the pizza.

[freedomlover]

If they dont want to serve me I'd rather know it at the door before I go in.

[canis major]

I'll help pay his fine.

[Shermy]

Turns out this is an ongoing story. Here's a February link from the BBC

Dane bans tourists over Iraq

[Mr. Mojo]

Excellent idea .....but I still want that pizza.

[CaptainJustice]

Wonder how much an large international pizza would cost? Could I send american dollars?

[Dog]

knighthawk is the freeper in the area....

[Cyber Liberty]

Maybe we should pass the hat and send him the $735?

[Lexington Green]

In that case, French and German customers might find themselves munching down on the Booger Surprise Pizza.