Far-right French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour said on Tuesday that he did not regret his remarks about isolated underage migrants, for which he was sentenced to a fine by a court for inciting racial hatred
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2022) Far-right French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour said on Tuesday that he did not regret his remarks about isolated underage migrants, for which he was sentenced to a fine by a court for inciting racial hatred.
"I would repeat what I said. I was sentenced for inciting racial hatred. But I didn't know that isolated underage foreigners were a race. It's not a race," Zemmour said in an interview with the French broadcaster BFM tv.
According to Zemmour, the court's verdict is purely political, aimed at preventing the migration issue from being linked to the rise in crime in France. Zemmour also added that he doesn't regret what he said.
On Monday, a Paris court sentenced Zemmour to a fine of 10,000 Euros ($11,399). The verdict concerns Zemmour's November 2020 statements describing underage migrants as "thieves," "murderers" and "rapists."
The 63-year-old far-right politician, known to take a particularly hardline stance on migration, announced his candidacy for the presidential election, scheduled for April, in late November 2021. In early December, Zemmour formed his party called Reconquete.
