Movie legend Brigitte Bardot has been found guilty of libel after using Nazi-related language to describe the head of France's hunting federation as a 'sub-human'.
The former sex symbol, who is now 86, caused outrage when she wrote that Willy Schraen, 51, was a 'glaring example' of the kind of 'terrorists' and 'cowardly sub-humans' who kill animals for sport.
The term 'sub human' – untermensch in German – was widely used by the Nazis to describe enemies whom they considered racially inferior, and so worthy of extermination.
Denis Delcourt-Poudenx, a barrister for France's Hunting Federation, on Tuesday told judges sitting at the judicial court in Arras, in northern France, that Bardot's remarks were 'particularly violent' as they had 'odious and disturbing Nazi connotations.'
Movie legend Brigitte Bardot (pictured in 1959) has been found guilty of libel after using Nazi-related language to describe the head of France's hunting federation as a 'sub-human'
Bardot had attacked Mr Schraen using a strongly-worded editorial on her animal rights website in October 2019.
The court found Bardot guilty of libel, and ordered her to pay a fine equivalent to £4,200, and to pay Mr Schraen £850, and a further £850 in legal costs.
Mr Delcourt-Poudenx said Bardot's conviction should send out 'a strong signal to stop insulting hunters'.
Bardot, who was given 15 days to remove the offending words from her website, was criticised by prosecutors for her 'persistent delinquent action'.
They pointed out that she has five previous convictions for making defamatory and discriminatory remarks.
François-Xavier Kelidjian, Bardot's lawyer, said she admitted the remarks were 'perhaps crude,' but she regretted the 'lack of debate around the subject of hunting', which was 'a major concern of the French'.
The former sex symbol, who is now 86, caused outrage when she wrote that Willy Schraen (pictured), 51, was an 'example' of the kind of 'cowardly sub-humans' who kill animals for sport
Bardot is a close friend of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the
