The leader of Insubordinate France Jean-Luc Mélenchon was sentenced Friday by the Paris Criminal Court for public defamation against a former journalist of the World
whom he had qualified in 2016 as a “repentant assassin”.
Then presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon attacked the newspaper The world in a post on his blog, “The era of the people”, in November 2016. He described the journalist Paulo Paranagua, specialist in Latin America, as a “repentant assassin”. “The permissible limits of freedom of expression have been exceeded,” said the judgment, consulted by AFP.
Mélenchon will have to pay 5,000 euros to the journalist in all
The journalist, now retired, had filed a defamation complaint in February 2017, but Jean-Luc Mélenchon did not appear before the judge for a first appearance questioning until July 2019. “Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is willing to do so giver of lessons, in fact abuses freedom of expression and will have tried unsuccessfully to escape justice, ”Paulo Paranagua’s lawyer said in a statement.
Sentenced to a suspended fine of 500 euros, Jean-Luc Mélenchon will have to pay 1,000 euros to the journalist as damages, as well as procedural compensation of 3,500 euros.
Paulo Paranagua had also attacked Jean-Luc Mélenchon for the absence at the time of legal notices on the site melenchon.fr, arguing that this had prevented him from suing the leader of rebellious France for civil defamation. On July 10, 2019, the deputy was ordered in the context of this procedure to pay a symbolic euro in damages as well as 2,000 euros for legal costs to Paulo Paranagua.