French court jails far-right activists for anti-migrant Alpine expedition

Three members of Generation Identity were given six month prison sentences

Three activists of Generation Identity received a six-month prison sentence. AFP

A court in France has jailed three far-right activists involved in a stunt in the Alps, which saw them erect a giant banner in the snow telling migrants to “go back to your homeland”.

Three members of the group Generation Identity were ordered to serve six months in prison for their part in organising an Alpine expedition to stop migrants crossing into France from Italy through a mountain pass last year.

The group’s president Clement Gandelin, spokesman Romain Espino and member Damien Lefevre, were also deprived of their civic rights, notably not being able to vote in elections, for five years.

The three were handed the unusual charge of “exercising activities in conditions that could create confusion with a public function”.

Prosecutors alleged their stunt could have been mistaken for a police manoeuvre.

Generation Identity, a pan-European group which claims to have supporters in France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Austria, was handed a fine of 75,000 euros (Dh304,000).

Lefevre described the ruling on Twitter as a “political decision” adding that it was “an honour, a medal, but shows the determination to suppress those who defend France".