Insult

Verified 01 October 2020 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

Insult is punishable by law. The insult can be private or public. It can also be racist, sexist or homophobic. Criminal sanctions take these different elements into account. Public insult is part of a specific procedure that makes it possible to repress it while preserving freedom of expression.

An insult is a word, a writing, any expression of thought addressed to a person with the intention of hurting or offending him.

Public insult

Public insult is an insult that can be heard or read by a public. People who may witness the insult may not be bound by a community of interest. This is the case with insults uttered in the street, among motorists for example, published in a newspaper or on a website.

Comments made on a social network can also be considered a public insult. Depending on the lock chosen by the account holder, the comments made may be accessible to any Internet user or to a more or less restricted circle offriends. If the comments are broadcast on an account that is accessible to everyone, the insult is a public insult.

The fact that an insult was pronounced in a closed place does not necessarily make it a non-public insult. Thus, a shouted insult in a building yard, because it can be heard by all the occupants (who do not necessarily know each other) and their guests, is a public insult.

Non-public insult

The non-public insult is:

  • addressed by the perpetrator to the victim without the presence of any third party (e.g. in a text message),
  • pronounced by the offender in the presence or absence of the victim before a small circle of persons sharing the same interests. If the members of this small circle are all bound by the same element, which may be the professional or family relationship, they are not considered as third parties in relation to the perpetrator of the insult and the victim. For example, insults to social and economic committee or between spouses in the family home.

In some cases, insults uttered on a social network can be considered as non-public. If the insult was posted on an account accessible only to a limited number of peoplefriends selected by the author, this is a non-public insult.

If you wish to have content removed from the internet, you can make a request to the author of the content, then to the host of the site and finally to the court.

The procedure varies depending on whether it is a post or a comment on a post.

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For a publication

You must first contact the author of the content, who is the responsible of the website.

If the site manager refuses to remove the content, you must contact its host. The contact details of the host must be indicated on the website in question.

Many hosts, such as video sites, set their own terms for removing content, including because of copyright infringement or offensive images. For this purpose, they have specific signaling devices.

If the host does not remove the reported content according to its own procedure, you can make a report to it in a legal framework. This will allow you to go to court afterwards.

To report content to a host in a legal context, you must follow a very specific procedure.

Your application must include the following elements:

  • Your name, first name and e-mail address (this is not necessary if you are logged on to the site at the time of notification and your credentials are already registered)
  • Description of the disputed content, its precise location on the site and, if possible, the e-mail addresses that made it accessible
  • Legal grounds for removing the content (law apparently violated by the content)
  • Copy of 1era request for withdrawal addressed to the author or proof of impossibility to contact him (it is not necessary for infringements the most serious, such as terrorism, pedophilia and crimes against humanity)

You must make your request by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. You can ask a lawyer for help.

Who shall I contact

You can attach screenshots of the contents made by a commissioner of justice (former bailiff and judicial auctioneer).

If you report content knowingly knowing it is not illegal, you could face up to 1 year in prison and €15,000 of fine.

If you have used this procedure and the host does not promptly remove the content (by explicit refusal or by not responding to you), you can complain against him.

The complaint will be based on the fact that the offending content is contrary to the law (insults, racist, homophobic, sexist...).

FYI  

in cases of urgency and obvious harm, you can to request an application for interim measures to have content removed by the host. However, the latter will not be penalized.

For a comment

You must contact the person responsible for the website or social network on which the comment is located.

If the site or social network manager refuses to withdraw the comment, you must contact their host. The contact details of the host must be indicated on the website in question.

Many hosts, such as video sites, set their own terms for removing content, including because of copyright infringement or offensive images. For this purpose, they have specific signaling devices.

If the host does not withdraw the comment reported according to its procedure, you can make a report by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. You can ask a lawyer for help.

Who shall I contact

You can attach screenshots of the contents made by a commissioner of justice (former bailiff and judicial auctioneer).

Your request for withdrawal must be as precise as possible: offenses concerned, link to the comment in question, ...

If the site manager does not delete the comment quickly, you can complain against him for the offense in question.

FYI  

in cases of urgency and obvious harm, you can to request an application for interim measures to have a comment removed.

If you are a victim of or witness to abusive language on the internet (on a forum or social network), you can report it to the police or gendarmerie.

Report illegal internet content (internet-reporting: Pharos)

Limitation period

You can wear within a limited time after the fact. This time starts with 1era publication of the remarks or their oral pronunciation. The period of prescription depends on the nature of the abuse.

Tableau - Limitation period according to the type of insult

Type of insult

Limitation period

Racist

1 year

Sexist

1 year

Homophobic

1 year

Harming people with disabilities

1 year

Other

3 months

Procedure

The procedure to be used differs depending on whether you know the person who made the insult or not.

You know the author of the comments

On the spot

You must go to a police station or a gendarme brigade of your choice.

Who shall I contact

You may not be refused the receipt of the complaint.

The complaint is then forwarded to the public prosecutor by the police or gendarmerie.

By mail

You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.

We need to send a free-form letter the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.

Who shall I contact

The letter should specify the following:

  • Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
  • Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
  • Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
  • Names and addresses of any witnesses to the offense
  • Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
  • Evidence: medical certificates, work stoppages, miscellaneous invoices, findings ...
  • Willingness to take civil action

File a complaint with the public prosecutor

Who shall I contact

You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.

You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.

In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.

You don't know him

If the perpetrator is unknown, the victim can still file a complaint. For example, if the speaker uses a pseudonym.

In this case, it is necessary to file a complaint against X, whether it is a simple complaint, or a civil party claim.

You must go to a police station or the gendarmerie of your choice.

Who shall I contact

The police or gendarmerie services are obliged to register the complaint.

The complaint is then forwarded to the public prosecutor for a decision on further action (investigation, closure without further action...).

If you don't know the perpetrator, you can fill out an online pre-complaint before traveling.

You will then get an appointment and the police or gendarmes will already have the elements of your complaint upon your arrival.

Online Pre-Complaint

You can also file a complaint by mail.

You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.

We need to send a free-form letter the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.

Who shall I contact

The letter should specify the following:

  • Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
  • Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
  • Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
  • Names and addresses of any witnesses to the offense
  • Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
  • Evidence: medical certificates, work stoppages, miscellaneous invoices, findings ...
  • Willingness to take civil action

File a complaint with the public prosecutor

Who shall I contact

You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.

You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.

In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.

The civil party complaint may be used for:

  • a case of public insult. In the case of non-public insult, the civil party complaint may be filed only if a simple complaint has been filed previously and it has been dismissed, or it has remained unanswered for 3 months,
  • a case of non-public insult, only if a simple complaint has been filed previously and it has been dismissed, or it has remained unanswered for 3 months.

The investigation initiated following the filing of a complaint is intended to establish the reality of the facts, without qualifying them at the criminal level. For example, the investigators will check whether the person targeted is the author of the blog and not whether the comments he made could be considered an insult.

FYI  

if the comments were made on the internet, you can ask a host removal of offensive content (such as a video).

General case

Public insult

She is punished by a fine of €12,000.

Non-public insult

It shall be punished, where it has not been preceded by provocation, by a €38 maximum.

Racist, sexist, homophobic, handicapped abuse

Public insult

The penalty shall be 1 year of imprisonment and €45,000 of fine.

Non-public insult

The penalty is a contravention of €1,500 maximum.

Who can help me?

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