Judged on appeal in Switzerland, the far-right Franco-Swiss essayist Alain Soral escaped prison term and was fined on Friday for having described a journalist as a “fat lesbian”.
In a video posted on the website of his association “Equality and Reconciliation”, Alain Soral had treated Cathy Macherel, of the daily newspaper the Tribune de Genève, as “fat militant lesbian” and “queer”, a term he wants to be synonymous with. of “misaligned”, after an article of the latter which was devoted to him.
The president of the court estimated this Friday that it was not obvious to see in these remarks “a state of contempt towards the homosexual community” or a “fierce hatred towards homosexuals”, and considered that it was rather of “targeted attack on a person”. She therefore considered that his remarks amounted to defamation but not to incitement to hatred against the homosexual community.
“The juxtaposition of the terms fat lesbian, activist, queer, taken as a whole, makes Catherine Macherel appear as a despicable person. The words are therefore detrimental to honor, ”she however assured. He was sentenced to pay a fine of 1,500 Swiss francs (about the same amount in euros). He must pay the journalist 500 Swiss francs for moral damages and pay her legal fees, up to 7,000 Swiss francs.
At first instance, Alain Soral was sentenced in early April to three months in prison by criminal order by the public prosecutor of the canton of Vaud (western Switzerland) Éric Cottier for “defamation, discrimination and incitement to hatred”. The latter had himself considered that “the remarks made by the defendant” against Cathy Macherel were “deeply homophobic” and incited “to discrimination because of the complainant’s sexual orientation and, more generally, homosexual people”. The essayist, 64, had appealed against this sanction.
During his trial on Wednesday, he claimed to have “no anti-gay hatred” and called his video a “right of reply”, while acknowledging that his tone was “too virulent”.
“I did not expect total relaxation”
From his real name Alain Bonnet, the essayist, who has lived in Lausanne since October 2019, can appeal the decision rendered this Friday. But he said he was somewhat relieved after the verdict. “The judgment is quite measured,” he told reporters, stressing that “homophobia was not retained.” “I did not expect total relaxation,” he added.
The journalist, who had filed a complaint after the video was broadcast, said she was “satisfied” with the judgment because the defamation against her was recognized. But she said she regretted that the incitement to hatred was not retained “because Mr. Soral targets the communities”, according to her.
The criminalization of homophobia is recent in Switzerland, ratified at the beginning of 2020 by a popular vote. This new provision broadens existing legislation in the fight against discrimination and incitement to racial or religious hatred, by extending it to sexual orientation.
Alain Soral has already been convicted twenty times in France, largely for offenses of incitement to hatred, defamation and public insult.