In France, Marie Le Pen's Trial For Inciting Hatred Towards Muslims Begins

In Lyon, France, yesterday, the trial of Marine Le Pen, leader of the far right National Front Party began.  As reported by The Guardian and The Local, Le Pen is charged with "incitement to discrimination, violence or hatred towards a group of people on the basis of their religion" in a suit brought by four human rights groups. During the campaign in 2010 to take over leadership of the National Front Party from her father, Le Pen complained about Muslims praying in the streets in three French cities where there are shortages of mosques.  She said:

I’m sorry, but for those who really like to talk about the second world war, if we’re talking about occupation, we can also talk about this while we’re at it, because this is an occupation of territory. It’s an occupation of swaths of territory, of areas in which religious laws apply … for sure, there are no tanks, no soldiers, but it’s an occupation all the same and it weighs on people.

In court, the French State Prosecutor recommended that the judges find Le Pen's remarks protected by her freedom of expression.