Jean-Marie Le Pen Acquitted in Racial Hatred Trial Over 2014 Comments

Referring to Guy Bedos and Madonna, he had stated in his video that "Bedoche" and "Maldonna" were his elected officials of the week, and "that we should marry them." "And Patrick Bruel?" Marie d’Herbais de Thun, who was giving him the cue, had asked him. "It doesn’t surprise me, listen, we’ll do a batch next time." The court had recognized that Le Pen’s remarks targeted the Jewish community, because "the word ’batch’ referred to ’the image of the systematic extermination process of the Jews of Europe’," reports L’AFP.

However, the court also noted that the remarks were nothing more than "a jubilation to make a pun in front of a sympathetic audience." Absent for the pronouncement of the judgment, Jean-Marie Le Pen welcomed it in a press release. "The facts prevailed over malice. I am pleased that in this case, which was obvious, the court ruled according to the law."

It was predictable that the former president of the National Front would be acquitted, as the prosecution had waived the charges, but changed its mind under pressure from human rights defense associations. If Jean-Marie Le Pen got away with it this time, that was not always the case. In 1993, he had been fined for his pun, "Durafour crématoire," targeting the Minister of the Civil Service at the time, Michel Durafour. He had also been convicted of "denial of crimes against humanity" for repeatedly describing the gas chambers as a "detail of the history of World War II."