It is a 69-year-old man who is absolutely unrepentant and uncommunicative who appeared this Thursday, November 14 afternoon, at the bar of the criminal court of Quimper (Finistère). On May 31, Jean-Yves Queinnec went to Rosporden (Finistère) to attend a conference hosted by Erwan Chartier, journalist and boss of the weekly “Le Poher”, invited by the Human Rights League , relating to the reception of refugees in Callac (Côtes-d'Armor). Everything is going well, until this sixty-year-old speaks in the middle of the audience, arguing that the “social cake is threatened by immigration”. “He then got up, walked down the steps, then, before our astonished eyes, gave a Nazi salute while shouting Heil Hitler. He then left the room,” the journalist-speaker told the court.
The man is known for having been a member of the National Front (FN) until 2015 and for having been a candidate in the 2017 legislative elections for the Union of Patriots, a party co-founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen. Prosecuted this time for advocating crimes against humanity, Jean-Yves Queinnec had already been questioned in the context of complaints for defamation, but had never yet been convicted.
Following the filing of a complaint, Jean-Yves Queinnec was taken into custody by the gendarmerie and a search was carried out at his home in Saint-Yvi (Finistère). Investigators discovered a French copy of “Mein Kampf” there. “It was my grandpa who gave it to me, because there are a lot of truths about the German economy. It's available over the counter in bookstores. I would also like to get it back,” requested the sixty-year-old, whose grandpa obviously did not resist. “There are more up-to-date manuals to read on the subject. There, that refers to tragic things,” replied the president of the court.
His copy of “Mein Kampf” remains sealed
The former candidate took refuge behind his convictions to explain his action: “I am a man of the national right and I found a lot of common sense in the theories of the historic National Front. » And added: “The fight against immigration is a patriotic duty. I defend France, Brittany. » In the eyes of the accused, during the conference, they were among “Bolsheviks” and he wanted to add “his two cents”. “The participants had their left fists raised and began to sing the international,” he insisted, considering himself “provoked”. Actions which are not illegal, stressed the president.
The sixty-year-old has always worked in the food industry. A former “peasant unionist”, he currently lives in a mobile home with his dogs and presents himself as “a bit of a warrior” and “a nationalist patriot”. The psychiatric examination noted neither abolition of discernment nor any particular problem, despite his erythrocyte face. “I am sick, suffering from two cancers. I am already condemned by medicine to the death penalty. I am no longer close to that,” the defendant insisted.
The lawyers of the two civil parties requested a symbolic euro in damages. “We do not bargain for honor,” said Maître Iannis Alvarez, lawyer for the speaker. “It is a salute aimed at the glorification of Adolf Hitler and not at the regime. This is an insult to all the victims. We are really into apologia and we are seeing a resurgence today. We need to go back to the history books. » For his part, the lawyer for the Human Rights League, Maître Nicolas Prigent, recalled that freedom of expression had its limits: “There is no question that these gestures or remarks will become trivialized. »
“It is necessary that individual freedoms have safeguards. These remarks are not just bravado, but a glorification of the ideas of the Nazi movement. It’s despicable,” insisted the prosecutor, who requested a six-month suspended prison sentence. For Maître Pierre Gentric, the defense lawyer, his client only wanted to shock the assembly.
The president finally followed the prosecutor's requisitions and did not return the book, despite the defendant's request. His copy of “Mein Kampf”, placed under seal, could therefore soon be destroyed administratively, if he does not appeal.
