Posted on 06/10/2004 9:53:38 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
PARIS (AFP) - Former French actress Brigitte Bardot was fined 5,000 euros (6,000 dollars) by a Paris court for writing a book in which she declared disgust with her country's tolerance of Islam.
The judgement added to a number of previous decisions which have found the 69-year-old of provoking racial hatred in her expression of right-wing, xenophobic views.
Bardot's publisher, Rocher, was also fined 5,000 euros for last year bringing out the book, "Un Cri Dans le Silence" (A Cry in the Silence).
Bardot, who lives in the French Riviera town of Saint-Tropez, was not present for the verdict.
Two civil rights groups, the Movement Against Racism and For Friendship Between People and the League of Human Rights, brought the lawsuit because of several passages in the book.
One of the most incriminating sections read: "I am against the Islamisation of France! This obligatory allegiance, this forced submission disgusts me.... Our ancestors, the elderly, our grandfathers, our fathers have for centuries given their lives to push out successive invaders."
The two groups which sued the ex-actress were each awarded a symbolic one euro in damages.
A complaint over a tirade in the book against "mixing our genes" with non-European immigrants -- taken in context to mean Muslims -- was not upheld.
In its verdict, the court ruled that Bardot had deliberately tried to draw a link between Islam and terrorism by mentioning the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States in a chapter on a Muslim holiday celebrated in France and elsewhere.
It found that the book argued that "the presence of Muslims on French territory and only seem undesirable to the reader, who is ineluctably led ... to reject members of the Muslim community through hate and violence."
France has Europe's biggest Muslim community, estimated at five million out of a total population of 60 million.
In her defence, Bardot admitted in court last month that she may have been too direct in the expression of her views but she did not seek to hurt anyone.
"It's my overall view of a society becoming completely decadent, where it's like mediocrity has become more important than beauty and greatness, where there are more dirty, badly kept people invading the world," she said.
We have the ACLU to protect us.
And God created woman! What a good job BB was.
If a person can't even write a book without being taken to court then where are we as a world body, as a nation even.
The seeds are being sown for world conquest by the anti-christ, we best be ready for it.
The Frogs still have Napoleonic Codes. That is, you are guilty of the crime charged by the state until you prove your innocence.
Europe, and the rest of the world, still have a few lessons to learn from America about freedom of speech.
At least there is one same person from France in the public eye.
Hm-hm. The French first, one supposes.
There is no guaranteed freedom of speech in France. There never has been. Not sure about guaranteed freedom of religion.
Absolutely "Orwellian."
This, my friends, is where we are headed if we do not stop it now.
"Hate crimes" be damned. Murder should have the degrees of 1st, 2nd and 3rd. When we include Race/religion/nationality/sexuality to play a role, we will NOT all be "equal in the eyes of the law."
Quite right. France operates under the Napoleonic code, which is very different from British common law. For instance, you are presumed guilty unless you can prove yourself innocent.
Contrary to the opinion of many Frogs, Napoleon was not a benefactor of mankind.
Freedom of speech is essential to all other freedoms.
Intellectually, the current ruling elite of France would have to speed up in order to be at a complete stop.
I'm a little confused though: is this the same French former actress fined last year for the same book, or is this a different case (or different actress)?
Careful with those, I am at work!
...more?
Of course not .. which may explain why the Dems up on the Hill are so upset the terrorists that want to cut our throats aren't getting enough sleep and eating cold meals
We are just soooooo mean to them
Unbelievable
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