Former French Politician Sentenced for Discriminatory Tweets Against Muslim Women Leaders

The former LREM elected official had attacked these two candidates before the municipal elections. "Wanting Paris and Marseille to be led by Maghrebi Muslim women is to betray France, its identity and its history," she had written on her Twitter account in February.

The predecessor of the current Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, had reported Ms. Cerighelli’s series of tweets on the subject under Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. "Getting used to this kind of slip-up, remaining impassive in the face of such repugnant remarks, is to let hatred win and the Republic retreat," he had written.

In addition to her conviction for incitement to discrimination, the former LREM elected official was sentenced to several other penalties for other offenses. She was sentenced to two months suspended sentence with a citizenship training course for tweets on December 13, 2019 about the presence of "Arab-Muslims" at the RATP.

"The RATP’s HR manager has a huge responsibility in the strike that has paralyzed the metro and RER since December 5. He has hired thousands of Arab-Muslims who despise Christmas and consider users as cattle. In December, they are still on strike," she had written.