four men fined

Four men were sentenced, Wednesday January 15, in Paris, to fines for provoking hatred and public insults against the singer Bilal Hassani who had announced to perform in concert in a former church in April 2023, but had finally gave up.

In total, five men were tried in this case in November before the 17^e chamber of the Paris criminal court. A blogger was found guilty of “public incitement to hatred or violence because of sexual orientation or gender identity”, and sentenced to 60 day fines of 50 euros each, or 3,000 euros. Another defendant, also prosecuted for aggravated public provocation, was sentenced to a suspended fine of €1,500 and will have to complete a five-day citizenship course. Two other men, found guilty of public insult, were given a suspended fine of 1,000 euros. The last defendant was acquitted for procedural reasons.

The four convicted men will also have to pay between 400 and 800 euros to the artist in damages.

“We are very happy that guilt has been recognized, it is a very important symbol”declared Clara Steg, lawyer for Bilal Hassani, to Agence France-Presse. “The court understood very well that we were not in the context of freedom of expression but in that of calls to hatred”she added, stressing that this affair had a “very significant psychological impact” on Bilal Hassani.

A church deconsecrated for 500 years

The alleged facts date back to April 2023, when the singer, claimed standard bearer of the LGBT community, was to perform in concert in an old church in Metz, the Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains basilica, deconsecrated for 500 years. This announcement sparked a wave of hatred, particularly on social networks.

On the social network “this bunch of degenerates” has “leave our churches alone” while another advocated “burn them”. Yet another had called the artist “Moroccan tranny” and said he imagined it “get stoned”. In a video posted on YouTube, another defendant called “violent behavior”according to the prosecution.

Opposed to this concert, the Lorraine Catholique collective had shouted at the “desecration”in the middle of Holy Week, in a message on his blog. Supported by Civitas, he called for a prayer of reparation before the concert, in front of the old church.

Faced with these threats, Live Nation, producer of Bilal Hassani's tour, decided to cancel the show scheduled for April 5, 2023. On April 28, the singer filed a complaint with the Metz prosecutor.