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The 34-year-old teacher who waved a sign bearing an antisemitic message during a protest against the French health pass has been served a six-month suspended sentence for 鈥渋nciting racial hatred.鈥�

Cassandre Fristot, an ex-Front national member and former councillor, was sentenced in her absence on Wednesday (October 20) at Metz鈥檚 criminal court.

The public prosecutor鈥檚 department had requested a three-month suspended sentence, but the judge handed her a heavier sentence.

Fristot was pictured on August 7 holding a sign covered with the surnames of several well known political figures and businessmen, along with the word 鈥渢ra卯tres!!鈥� (traitors) during a demonstration in Metz.

Several of the people mentioned 鈥� including American billionaire investor George Soros, and French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy 鈥� had Jewish or Jewish-sounding names.

Also written on the sign was 鈥淢ais qui?鈥� (But who?), which relates to a hashtag employed by conspiracy theorists who believe that Jewish people control the media.

Read more: French health pass protests: Who is the 鈥榪ui鈥� mentioned on placards?

Read more: Swastika on anti-pass protest placard investigated in eastern France

Fristot was also required by the court to pay between 鈧�1 and 鈧�300 to eight anti-racism groups which were plaintiffs in the case, including Licra, the Ligue des droits de l鈥橦omme and SOS Racisme.

鈥淭his sign was not very difficult to understand but [its message] was somewhat concealed in order to avoid criminal punishment, which is not very brave,鈥� said Ligue des droits de l鈥橦omme representative Annie Levi-Cyferman.

鈥淗owever, the court was not fooled, so this is a victory over everything that constitutes incitement to hatred.

Ms Levi-Cyferman added that the sign 鈥渨as not within the frameworks of democratic debate but was a crime. [This woman] is a criminal and she has been convicted for failing to respect the rules of the Republic.

鈥淭his is a defeat for her. She has always denied [it], she acts the frightened, naive maiden, but really she is a seasoned far right militant who carries the far right鈥檚 traditional antisemitic values.鈥�

Fristot had denied that the sign was antisemitic, claiming when questioned by police that 鈥淚 wanted to denounce people in power, it is their decisions that I hold against them and not their religion.鈥�

She was suspended from her job as a German teacher after images from the protest surfaced, and the contents of the sign were condemned by anti-racism groups and politicians including Minister of the Interior G茅rald Darmanin and Minister for Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer.

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