29.03.2014 Racism-lawsuit against Jacques Domergue

The French League for Human Rights (LDH) filed a lawsuit against the UMP politician Jacques Domergue. Domergue said in public, on the occasion of the mayoral elections of Montpellier that: “The Rroma have no place in the city centre. I tell you very clearly. I will be very uncompromising concerning security (…). I am on the line of Estrosi. I see today how Rroma attack young people and old ladies at cash machines. I will not tolerate this. Without further ado, they will disappear from the city centre.” Domergue is not alone with his racist remarks. Last year, many French politicians, from left to right, from candidates to elected ministers, made racist remarks against Rroma. At least, the French law doesn’t tolerate these transgressions passively. However, whether the lawsuits, whose verdicts usually turn out very mild, will change something in this practice is not clear (Dubault 2014, Le Figaro 2014).