Marion Maréchal acquitted of defamation charges by Valence court over Muslim school remarks

French far-right MEP Marion Maréchal was acquitted this Friday of defamation charges brought by a Muslim school in Valence. The criminal court in Valence (Drôme) determined that the statements made by the elected official did not amount to defamation against the association Valeurs et Réussite, which oversees the private institution. However, the association has already announced plans to appeal the decision.

The controversy dates back to October 2023, when Marion Maréchal alleged that the mayor of Valence had «attempted to sell a plot of land to an association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood». Speaking on the Cnews platform, the MEP connected these claims to Valeurs et Réussite, while accusing the Brotherhood movement of having «the same goal as Al-Qaeda and Daesh». She later shared her comments on social media.

The association filed a defamation lawsuit in response. During the trial, the prosecutor did not seek any penalty against Marion Maréchal, arguing that her remarks did not «directly» target the institution. As reported by HERE, the court's ruling stated that her words did not constitute «a specific fact».

Jean-Yves Dupriez, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, expressed his disappointment. He criticized the court's decision, stating that «this means we couldn't debate the proof of affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood or not». «We argued the opposite, especially considering a recent government-commissioned report that identified several structures affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood», he said.

According to the same source, Dupriez believes that «this classification could be subject to evidentiary debate, but the court disagreed». «If the statements in question are not likely to provoke a debate on the evidence, there is no need to determine whether the person who made them had a sufficiently serious factual basis beforehand», he explains.

The association had sought 15,000 euros in damages, the publication of the conviction, and the removal of the posts on Instagram and TikTok where the remarks were made.