In September, during the hearing before the criminal court, he was very confident, explaining that he wanted to “protect the children”. On May 15, this far-right activist attacked drag queens who were reading in front of children in Saint-Senoux, a small town in Ille-et-Vilaine. At the head of a small group called L’Oriflamme, resulting from the dissolution of Action Française, this 24-year-old man was the only one to act unmasked and to deliver a transphobic speech.
This Monday, October 9, he was found guilty of “public incitement to hatred and violence because of sexual orientation or gender identity” and “organizing a demonstration without authorization” by the criminal court of Rennes. The court sentenced him to four months in prison. A fine of 500 euros was also imposed for concealing the face.
“We did not want to attack people, but an ideology”
During the hearing, he did not shy away from the magistrates’ questions. He admitted having read a text that was clearly transphobic and hostile to this workshop while denying having wanted to attack the victims personally. “We did not want to attack people, but to attack an ideology, a lobby. Besides, there was no violence. Above all, we had to defend the children on whom we tried to pour ideology. Our goal was not to put an end to reading, but to get people talking about it.” In fact, he had succeeded, with numerous national media taking up this militant action.
At the bar, the accused congratulated himself on “being on BFMTV” thanks to some filthy punchlines with a rancid taste like “degenerate LGBT” or “more France, less trans”. On a banner displayed in front of the library, we could read “instill our children with our roots, do not impose drag queens”.
“I am still moved by this story”
On the victims’ bench, drag queens who participated in this reading expressed their feelings, denouncing the humiliation experienced. “I am still moved by this story. We had planned a gentle reading, dressed as a robot or a snail, without any ideology,” assured one of the participants. The mayor of Saint-Senoux had also filed a complaint, considering that the choice of this workshop was “assumed” because “it was indeed artists who did this reading”.
Already condemned by the courts for having degraded the tenure of a LREM elected official from Sarthe on the sidelines of a “yellow vest” demonstration, the accused had seen the prosecutor request six months in prison and a ban on demonstrating for three years. The court, however, acquitted the defendant of the offense of public insult.
The lawyer for the civil parties had obviously argued to the same effect, recalling his clients’ fears of being targeted. “We cannot come and shout hateful slogans like he did and use terms like degenerate. By authorizing behavior like that, we put a target on people’s backs,” argued Me Benjamin Mayzaud. The defendant was ordered to pay 800 euros to each of the three victims on the grounds of moral damage.