The defendant, summoned for provocation to hatred and racial insult, chose not to appear before the Paris Criminal Court so that the judicial enclosure does not turn into a "political arena" or "media", had justified his lawyer Me Olivier Pardo.

During the first seven hours of the hearing, defense lawyers seemed to do everything to delay the time for consideration of the merits of the case, multiplying requests for referrals and endless procedural questions.

Without the possibility of questioning the defendant, the court then went around the case in less than an hour.

In question, comments made on CNews on September 29, 2020, by the one who was then the star columnist of the show "Face à l'Info" - broadcast "delayed", and "prime time", note civil parties.

The court plays the extract of a debate on unaccompanied minors, after an attack in front of the ex-locals of Charlie Hebdo: "They have nothing to do here, they are thieves, they are murderers, they are rapists, c 'that's all they are, they must be sent back and they must not even come ", we hear Eric Zemmour say.

"All unaccompanied minors are not rapists" he then tempers, at the request of the presenter.

"But the responsibility of France and the government is not to take the risk (...) When in doubt, no one should be allowed in".

"Not all", tries the presenter.

"All of them have nothing to do here," vociferates Eric Zemmour.

“It's a permanent invasion,” “it's an immigration policy issue,” he also said.

-He "tests the Republic" -

"We are trying to make believe that these hearings are linked to the status of putative candidate of Mr. Zemmour," said Dominique Sopo, president of SOS Racisme, civil party at the trial.

But anti-racist associations are "not used very much" to prosecute presidential candidates.

"What motivates is the nature of the words of great violence from a person who is testing the Republic" and who has "an influence", he insists.

"Eric Zemmour's speech is dangerous because there are morons (...) ready to take action," says Samuel Thomas, president of La Maison des Potes, also a civil party in the trial.

In total, around thirty of them are made up, including the SOS Racisme associations, the Human Rights League (LDH) and the Licra, as well as around twenty departmental councils - unaccompanied minors being taken care of. by social assistance for children, managed by the departments.

The defense has long contested the admissibility of most of them.

"They are there because they want to pay Eric Zemmour. If you want to debate with him, you are running for the presidential election!", Launched Me Pardo.

"We are today objectively in a moment of hegemony of racist thought", says Me Arié Alimi, first among the civil parties to plead, for the LDH.

Mr. Zemmour "is intended to run for president, and there is a possibility that he will become President of the Republic", he insists, calling on the court to be firm "in a moment of history where everything can happen ".

"The word of Eric Zemmour is not an opinion, it is a crime", insists Me Jérôme Karsenti, asking for a conviction which "recalls" that.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Pardo had maintained that the quote for incitement to racial hatred did not stand: "When we say + the Arabs +, we know what we are talking about," he said.

"But unaccompanied minors are neither a race, nor a nation, nor an ethnic group."

The positions of Eric Zemmour, 63, have earned him fifteen lawsuits over the past ten years.

Several times released, he was twice convicted of incitement to hatred.

The former journalist was forced in mid-September to quit CNews' flagship show because of his presidential ambitions for 2022. He has not yet declared himself a candidate but, according to sources close to him, he should do so before. a first campaign meeting planned for the beginning of December.

© 2021 AFP