Le Pen acquitted of inciting hatred

French National Front leader Marine le Pen has been acquitted of charges of inciting hatred on the December 2010 campaign trail in Lyon, France.

The charges relate to her comments comparing Muslims praying in the streets to the Nazi occupation of France in World War Two.

In October Ms Le Pen told a court in Lyon she did not commit any offence.

Prosecutors said she had exercised her right to free speech and was not referring to all Muslims.

She was charged in July 2014 after her immunity as a member of the European Parliament was lifted following a vote requested by French authorities. In her 2010 speech to far-right National Front supporters, broadcast by French media, she said that France had initially seen “more and more veils”, then “more and more burkhas” and “after that came prayers in the streets”.

She said: “I’m sorry, but some people are very fond of talking about World War Two and about the occupation, so let’s talk about occupation, because that is what is happening here... “There are no tanks, no soldiers, but it is still an occupation, and it weighs on people.” The case was originally dropped last year by the Lyon court of appeal but was revived by anti-racism groups who made a civil complaint. Praying in the streets was banned in Paris in 2011 in response to growing far-right protests. In the same year France became the first EU state to ban public wearing of the face-covering Islamic veil (niqab).