Source: Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Most people probably don’t recall all of the things they said last week, let alone four years ago. But for widely-read French writer Michel Houellebecq, comments he made in a 2022 magazine interview may spell legal trouble for him today. Houellebecq is now formally facing a judge-led investigation in a Paris suburb for ‘complicity in incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group of people on account of their origin or their belonging or not belonging to a particular ethnicity, nation, race or religion.’ … Should authorities pursue charges and find him guilty, Houellebecq could face large fines and up to a year in prison. Even if they ultimately drop the investigation, the message is clear to both Houellebecq and everyone else: If you speak your mind on a controversial issue in France, you might get wrapped up in a lengthy and chilling investigation. You might even end up in jail.” (11/12/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/prosecuting-michel-houellebecq-will