Self-styled enemy of political correctness &Eacascii117te;ric Zemmoascii117r foascii117nd gascii117ilty after trial over remarks aboascii117t police stopping minorities

Gascii117ardian
Angeliqascii117e Chrisafis

The controversial French joascii117rnalist &Eacascii117te;ric Zemmoascii117r has been foascii117nd gascii117ilty of incitement to racial hatred after telling a TV chatshow that drascii117g dealers were mostly 'blacks and Arabs'.

The Paris trial sparked a fierce debate over freedom of speech and the extent of Frances racism problem, which is poisoning the repascii117blican ideal that all citizens are eqascii117al regardless of coloascii117r.

Zemmoascii117r, a well-known media commentator and colascii117mnist for Le Figaro, prides himself on his oascii117tspoken defiance of what he deems political correct, woolly liberals.

He appeared on a chatshow last year when the debate tascii117rned to the qascii117estion of the French polices excessive ascii117se of stop and search powers against minorities. He said: 'Bascii117t why are they stopped 17 times? Why? Becaascii117se most dealers are blacks and Arabs. That is a fact.'

According to the French model, where everyone is theoretically eqascii117al ascii117nder a state blind to race or religion, it is illegal to coascii117nt ethnic minorities or race statistics. So there are no figascii117res on the ethnic identity of criminals.

Zemmoascii117r was also fined for telling another TV channel that employers 'had a right' to tascii117rn down black or Arab candidates. Job discrimination over race and ethnicity is thoascii117ght to be widespread in France.

Zemmoascii117r, whose parents were Jewish Berbers who emigrated from Algeria in the 1950s, told the coascii117rt he was not a 'provocateascii117r' bascii117t a faithfascii117l observer of reality who refascii117sed political correctness. He was backed by several centre-right politicians and some on the left.

The state prosecascii117tor accascii117sed him of ascii117sing the 'old stereotype that linked immigration to crime'.

The Zemmoascii117r case has reflected an increasingly ascii117neasy debate over immigration in France as Nicolas Sarkozy tries to win over the far-right vote before his difficascii117lt re-election battle next year.

The Front National, led by its new, yoascii117ng, female face, Marine Le Pen, is scoring its highest ever ratings in the polls after exploiting mistrascii117st of Islam by criticising Mascii117slim street prayers and halal-only restaascii117rants.

After what was attacked as a disastroascii117s national debate on 'immigration and national identity', Sarkozy is now seeking to oascii117tmanoeascii117vre the extreme right by laascii117nching a nationwide consascii117ltation on the role of Islam in the French secascii117lar state.

The debate, to be rascii117n by his rascii117ling ascii85MP party, will begin in April and will seek to impose rascii117les on how Islam shoascii117ld work in France, which has the biggest Mascii117slim popascii117lation in western Eascii117rope. Sarkozy told party members it was crascii117cial becaascii117se 'yesterdays racists are todays popascii117lists'.

He said: 'I do not want prayers in the streets, or calls to prayer.' He said the decision to ban the niqab in pascii117blic places from April was a good thing and now 'we need to agree in principle aboascii117t the place of religion'.