Sentenza 20 aprile 2010
The Court declared inadmissible the application Le Pen v. France. The
Court considered that the penalty imposed on the applicant for his
statements about Muslims in France was justified. The Court reiterated
that it attached the highest importance to freedom of expression in
the context of political debate in a democratic society, and that
freedom of expression applied not only to “information” or
“ideas” that were favourably received, but also to those that
offended, shocked or disturbed. Furthermore, anyone who engaged in a
debate on a matter of public interest could resort to a degree of
exaggeration, or even provocation, provided that they respected the
reputation and rights of others.