The defendant, Hervé X, was prosecuted for provocation to discrimination, hatred, or violence based on religion and ethnicity. In September 2007, he posted comments on a website targeting "Jewish intellectuals and decision-makers," labeling Judaism as a "corrosive product that dissolves the national community" and attributing various negative traits specifically to "the Jew". The public prosecutor initiated the proceedings. During the trial, LDH and LICRA intervened to join as civil parties. The defendant was convicted and ordered to pay €1,000 in damages to each association. He appealed to the Court of Cassation, arguing that in press matters, no new party should be allowed to intervene once the initial act of prosecution has fixed the scope of the case. The Court of Cassation rejected the defendant's arguments. The court affirmed that it would be "paradoxical" to prevent associations specifically empowered by law to defend certain values from acting simply because the prosecutor initiated the case first.
article 48-1 de la loi du 29 juillet 1881; Sur le premier moyen de cassation, pris de la violation des articles 6 § 1 de la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme, 23, 24, 48-1, 50 et 53 de la loi du 29 juillet 1881, 2, 3 et 593 du code de procédure pénale, manque de base légale