French far-right politician Eric Zemmour was ordered, on Wednesday, April 2, to pay a €10,000 fine for contesting crimes against humanity, by saying that Nazi collaborator Philippe Pétain had "saved" French Jews during World War II. Zemmour, head of the far-right Reconquête! party, made the comments during a television debate in 2019. The claim is contested by most historians, who have noted the wartime leader's well-documented anti-Semitism

Known as a commentator and writer with virulent anti-Islam views, Zemmour has several convictions for racist hate speech. He stood in the 2022 presidential elections but was knocked out in the first round. In a statement released after the ruling, Zemmour insisted that he had "at no time wished to 'defend Pétain'" and said he would lodge an appeal