A French reader points out that the Law of Merited Impossibility (“It won’t happen, and when it does, you bigots will deserve it”) has come to France. From my translation of a story just published in Le Monde:

The former president of the Christian Democratic Party, Christine Boutin, was sentenced Friday, December 18, to pay a 5,000-euro fine for “public incitement to hatred or violence” against homosexuals for having said that “homosexuality is an abomination.”

The criminal court went beyond the request of the prosecutor, who had asked to end Oct. 1 hearing fine of 3,000 euros against her. Christine Boutin was also ordered to pay 2,000 euros in damages to each of the two [gay rights] associations, Mousse and Le Refuge, which were civil parties.

In an April 2014 interview with the magazine Charles, headlined “I am a sinner,” Christine Boutin said: “Homosexuality is an abomination. But not the person. Sin is never acceptable, but the sinner is always forgiven.”

“What we hear in your words is that homosexuals are an abomination,” the prosecutor summarized, stating that the prosecution had received 500 individual complaints after the statement.

Boutin’s lawyer asked for acquittal, arguing that his client was tried for “an opinion”. He then told the court:

“Your decision will have a huge impact on freedom of expression. If you follow the prosecution case, then we must grasp the Bible!”