Marine Le Pen may face racial hatred charge after losing MEP immunity
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The leader of France’s far-right National Front party, Marine Le Pen, was stripped of her parliamentary immunity, opening the way for charges of inciting racial hatred to be laid against her.
Ms Le Pen, 44, is a member of the European Parliament, which lifted her immunity at the request of a French prosecutor who wants to place her under investigation after she compared the holding of Muslim street prayers with the Nazi “occupation” of France.
The far-right leader repeated her comments, first made in 2010 in Lyon, on Monday. Anticipating the MEPs’ decision, which she had expected after an earlier committee decision to lift her immunity, Ms Le Pen said she was a “dissident” and defended her “freedom of speech”.
In a separate incident, President François Hollande has sacked his Environment Minister Delphine Batho, for describing the 2014 budget as a “bad one” for her ministry.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments