Politics

Woman arrested by police and risking a 12,000 euro fine for criticizing France president Macron on social media

Published April 4, 2023 | By NewsJive.com

A French woman was arrested by police in the city of Saint Omer in northern France for using her freedom of speech to criticize the President of France, Emmanuel Macron on social media.

The woman now risks a fine of 12,000 euros if she will be convicted. The trial starts on June 20.

The woman who is called “Valerie” and is beleived to be in her 50s, is now put on trial on charges of “insulting the president of the republic” (President Emmanuel Macron), after describing him as “filth” in a Facebook post, according to the prosecutor in the case, Mehdi Benbouzid, AFP reports.

The text that the woman wrote, that now could give her major judicial problems was apparently this one:

“This piece of filth is going to address you at 1:00 pm… it’s always on television that we see this filth.”

The woman is said to be part of the political opposition in France, and a supporter of the “Yellow Vest“-movement who protested heavily against Macron during his first presidential mandate in 2018-2019 which “shook” him really heavily, according to France24.

The woman told La Voix du Nord regional newspaper that she was “astonished“, when she opened her front door to find out that the police had come to arrest her.

“I asked them if it was a joke, I had never been arrested,” said the woman and continued: “I am not public enemy number one.”

France has during the last month seen heavy protest movements arrise everwhere in the country against the French regime’s new pension reforms, that president Macron refuses to abolish and has caused high social tensions in the country.