“Don’t play scum”: what the RN deputy Laurent Iacobelli, accused of libel, is accused of

A few months after the shocking episode, there was a reaction in court. Moselle National Rally (RN) MP Laurent Iacobelli was charged following a complaint filed in October by his Renaissance colleague Belhir Belhaddad for “insulting and slandering a member of parliament”, he told AFP. The episode, which occurred several months after a quarrel between two deputies, was immortalized by journalists.

What happened during this quarrel?

On October 13, during the visit of Olivier Véran, then government spokesman, in Ayang (Moselle), the camera of the newspaper Le Républicain Lorrain captured Laurent Iacobelli insulting Belhir Belhaddad. In a quiet voice, the RN deputy said, in the midst of local journalists and politicians, to the Renaissance deputy: “Stay polite, okay? I’m going to make a mess of your house.

Then, a little later: “Is Madame Leduc healthy, is Hamas healthy? “, referring to Moselle MP Charlotte Leduc, a member of the LFI group, a few days after the Hamas attack in Israel. “You speak to me differently, I’ll tell you right away. Scumbag (…) Don’t act like a scumbag,” Laurent Iacobelli continued after Belhir Belhaddad asked him not to threaten him.

Belhir Belhaddad filed a complaint for “insults and defamation of a member of parliament” on the same day as the row and said he was “heard for a long time” by the investigating judge two months ago.

What are the consequences of this complaint?

Therefore, this Monday, MP Laurent Iacobelli announced that, based on this complaint, he had been charged. “This is a fairly standard procedure in cases of alleged libel, charges are systematically brought. Now we are in this procedure, which will allow us to draw our own conclusions on this matter,” the elected official said.

The lawmaker was indicted by an investigating judge on Friday after a “classic hearing,” he said, confirming Republican Lorrain’s account. “My lawyer and I gave our version of the facts, we will definitely send additional conclusions, and then either the case will be closed or it will move on,” continued Laurent Iacobelli.

How did Belhir Belhaddad react?

For his part, the elected representative of the Renaissance defended his approach, seeking to condemn Laurent Iacobelli’s “inexcusable and racist comments.” He said he filed the complaint “to bring justice.” “And this decision, even if it assumes the deputy’s innocence, is the first step for me,” Belhir Belhaddad responded to AFP.

“I have filed a complaint about an act that I consider to be characterized, and behavior like that of Laurent Iacobelli, for me only fuels divisions within society and contributes to the escalation of tensions (…) we have clearly seen that the veneer has cracked and the violence of the far right is still present,” he continued.