(Yabiladi) 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.
