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The former mayor of Saint-Paul (Réunion), Alain Bénard, was handed a three-month suspended prison sentence on Friday for «public incitement to discrimination based on origin, ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion». He was also ordered to pay one symbolic euro in damages to the civil parties.
A leading figure of the Réunionese Republican right and mayor from 1999 to 2008, Bénard was found guilty for remarks disseminated on social media targeting the island’s Muslim community. According to local media, he did not attend the final hearing due to health issues, as noted by his defense. Represented by his lawyer, he conveyed through counsel his «most profound and sincere apologies» for the incriminating comments.
The case stemmed from a series of Facebook posts published on March 15, in which he wrote that «all Muslims» on the island had «become fundamentalists, like all Muslims worldwide» (sic). The statements triggered outrage from the Regional Council of the Muslim Faith of Réunion (CRCM), which denounced his words.
Bénard went further, adding: «They no longer want to integrate. They want to impose their laws and codes on us. In canteens, swimming pools, cemeteries… They should leave…»
In its ruling, the court stressed that a former elected official of the Republic must set an example. Prosecutors had requested a €5,000 fine, including €1,000 suspended, as well as the public posting of the verdict for one month.
