Youths fined for Hollande banner

A GROUP of extreme-Right protesters against homosexual marriage have been fined up to €900 after flying a banner across the Parti Socialiste offices in Paris calling on President Hollande to resign.

The group of 19, described by one of their lawyers as “charming, well brought-up, educated and very militant” had used a ladder to scale the wall of the party headquarters in Rue de Solférino on May 26 and hung the banner over the balcony.

Aged between 19 and 36 years old, they were all arrested on the spot and spent 48 hours in detention before being released on bail.

They told the court that they had been heading to the anti-gay marriage Manif pour Tous demonstration in Paris when they saw the ladder and decided to climb it. They did not know it was the Parti Socialiste offices.

One of them complained that it was “scandalous to waste the court’s time and money” on such a case.

They had been accused of home invasion, a crime that could have led to a year in jail and €15,000 fine, but 15 were given €500 suspended fines, three a €500 fine and one a €900 fine.