French farmer unrepentant after helping illegal migrants
By in Paris A FRENCH olive farmer convicted of helping illegal migrants slip across the border from Italy was given a suspended fine of €3,000 (£2,550) by a court in Nice.
Cédric Herrou, from the Roya valley near the Italian border, was cleared of other charges that he illegally accommodated migrants in a disused holiday camp and helped them travel and stay in France.
However, he told French radio yesterday that he still had four teenagers from Eritrea and one from Sudan staying in caravans at his farm. “It is an act of humanity, not a crime,” he said, claiming to be part of a support network of “thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who believe in fraternity”.
He is part of an underground group of local resi- dents and academics who provide food and lodging and help migrants on their way northwards towards Britain or Germany.
With his black beard, beret and round glasses, Herrou, 37, has become an unlikely media celebrity, seen as an outlaw by some but a local hero to others.
Unapologetic about breaking the law, he told the court during his trial that he helped migrants because he felt it was his national duty “as a Frenchman”.
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the court and cheered as he left after the verdict was announced. Posters placed on the courthouse railings read “crime of solidarity” and “they are us”.
Even the prosecutor, JeanMichel Prêtre, who asked for an eight-month prison sentence, at times appeared sympathetic to the organic farmer who admitted seeking out needy migrants. Mr Prêtre described his cause as “noble” but said the law must be upheld.
Herrou said it was “shameful and unlawful” that French police rounded up thousands of migrants each year and expelled them to Italy. French police arrested more than 36,000 migrants in the south last year. Herrou said the figure was misleading because many had returned to France several times. Last month a university professor arrested with three Eritrean women in his car was cleared of aiding illegal immigration.