HEARING REPORT – A taxi driver was on trial before the Créteil criminal court for “death threats and discrimination”. The accused had refused to take a Jewish family on a ride to Orly airport on October 11, 2023.
In the small courtroom of the Créteil court this Monday, Fethi C is on trial. The defendant, aged 55, is dressed in a navy blue suit jacket over a white shirt. The taxi driver appears to arrive with confidence, but when he is called to the stand, he awkwardly straightens his glasses.
“Fortunately I didn’t take you, otherwise I would have slaughtered you, your wife and your children”, states the president. It is for this sentence in particular that Fethi C. has an appointment with justice today. In the room, a member of the public cannot contain a gasp of surprise, shocked by the words that are mentioned.
The facts date back to October 11, 2023, four days after the Hamas attack. A couple and their three children arrive in Paris after leaving Tel Aviv in Israel. After landing at Orly airport (Val-de-Marne), the family waits in the queue for a taxi. As they walk towards the vehicle, Fethi C., who was to transport them, refuses to take them, because of their religious affiliation.
The father immediately reports the facts the same day to the Directorate of Users and Administrative Police at the police headquarters. An investigation will then make it possible to identify the suspect, using video surveillance images.
Anti-Semitic acts have quadrupled
If the family decided not to file a complaint and not to be present on this day of trial, this is not the case for the various associations which decided to defend the case. The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra) and the National Office for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA) in particular underline the seriousness of Fethi C.’s comments, almost seven months ago.
When the civil parties speak, it’s pretty much the same speech. Anti-Semitic acts have quadrupled since the October 7 attack and fear reigns among Jewish families. Last year 1,676 acts were recorded in France compared to 436 the previous year, according to a Crif report, after the date of the Hamas attacks against Israel.“We have a Jewish community in France which removes all religious symbols because it is afraid”relates Me Galina Elbaz, counsel for Licra. “The best sanction is the reminder of the law”assures Me Franck Serfati, the lawyer for the National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA), also a civil party, who maintains that the taxi driver “lying from the beginning.”
“Students are afraid, families have been terrorized since October 7. Death threats must not go unpunished”, she assures with conviction. For his part, the representative of the National Office for Vigilance against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA) defends: “The question is, what will our attitude be? Will we let people look at the cattle cars through the windows or will we stand on the tracks to prevent them from passing?”
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“Dirty unemployed piece of shit”
When Fethi C. takes the stand, he states his version, in a low and almost inaudible voice. He completely denies the facts and himself accuses the father of having caused the altercation. However, his explanations remain vague and he himself seems to get lost in his words.
According to the accused, while he was smoking a cigarette at the airport taxi reception point, the father came to approach him to ask him to get into his vehicle. At the same time, he also allegedly asked the suspect for a cigarette. For the accused, the person who should have been his future client suddenly changed his personality. He would have whispered in her ear: “If you’re not in a hurry I’ll take another taxi.”
But the story does not end there. “Dirty unemployed piece of shit”would have continued the father of the family, all this accompanied by a middle finger, always according to the words of Fethi C. Other names of birds would also have flown away, some of which in Arabic, from the two men . “I answered him not even a tenth of what he insulted me”, the taxi driver retorts at the bar. Video surveillance images clearly show a verbal altercation between the two men.
“It’s my van, I take whoever I want”
Unfortunately, his version of the facts does not match that of the witness. In a statement made by the president, the airport taxi regulator, César K. would have clearly heard the anti-Semitic remarks of Fethi C. The defendant would even have added “dirty Jewish b*****” and would have answered “It’s my van, I take whoever I want” to the agent. Upon hearing these words, the accused gives a slight smile and seems to disagree with these statements.
“I feel insulted to be accused of such accusations”, stammers Fethi C. at the bar. When his turn comes, Fethi C.’s council criticizes the absence of the second person concerned: the father of the family. “He was not heard throughout the procedure”relates his lawyer. “There are four civil parties for every person who did not come forward.”
At the same time, Me Boris Rosenthal, who defends the accused, also seems to be in agreement with his colleagues, and “refuses to succumb to this tension”, he explains, referring to the pressures that the country has experienced since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The council also decides to bring to the court a letter of support from a rabbi close to Fethi C. “He lives above a Jewish cultural center!”concludes Me Boris Rosenthal.
The defendant was finally sentenced to eight months in prison with a simple suspended sentence, as well as a citizenship training course to be completed at his own expense. In addition, he was also ordered to pay 1,500 euros in damages and 800 euros for costs not paid by the State.
