No hats in prison
June 23, 2011
The prosecutor in the anti-Semitism trial of disgraced British couturier John Galliano is calling for a fine of at least 10,000 euro ($14,350) to be leveled against the fashion designer.
The trial started Wednesday in Paris, where Galliano is accused of repeatedly hurling anti-Semitic slurs at patrons of a popular bistro. A verdict in the case is expected in September.
Galliano, who served as the head designer for Christian Dior until the fashion house sacked him in March over the accusations, argued he was not an anti-Semite - and that he had lost control under the influence of a triple addiction to alcohol, Valium and sleeping pills.
"I don't remember very well ... I have no recollection," Galliano said when asked if he remembered the February incident. Later he added, "I apologize for the sadness this whole affair has caused. I embrace every people, every race, creed, religion, sexuality."
Serious accusations
Galliano's trial is the latest chapter in a saga that began when he was interrogated by French police after a couple accused him of uttering racist and anti-Semitic insults from his neighboring table at La Perle bistro, in Paris' fashionable, traditionally Jewish, Marais district.
One of Galliano's accusers, museum curator Geraldine Bloch alleges that on February 24 Galliano called her a "dirty Jew" and her boyfriend an "Asian bastard."
The accusations were strengthened shortly after when a video surfaced of the designer at the same bistro, saying "I love Hitler" in a drunken rant.
Galliano, who left France shortly after the incident to seek substance abuse treatment in the United States, has lodged a counter-suit against Bloch, alleging defamation.
The designer's maximum sentence for a guilty verdict would be 22,500 euros ($32,400) in fines and/or six months in prison. However, in Wednesday's trial, the prosecution made no mention of jail time.
Bloch's lawyers say she is not interested in money, but will seek symbolic damages of one euro, as well as publication of the court's decision in fashion magazines Elle and Vogue and the French daily Le Figaro.
Author: David Levitz, Matt Zuvela (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler