French parliament lifts ban on insulting president Published duration 26 July 2013

image copyright AFP image caption A man was fined for insulting former President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008

A change in French law means it has now become legal to insult the French president.

Parliament agreed on Thursday to amend legislation dating back to 1881 in favour of freedom of speech.

Previously, anyone tempted to offend the head of state risked a fine.

In March, the European Court of Human Rights ruled France violated freedom of expression by fining a man for insulting former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The abuse, repeating words that Mr Sarkozy himself had used previously, was a crude version of "get lost!"

The European Court said the man's conviction and his 30-euro (£26) fine had been "disproportionate".