Bardot denies race hate charges

French film legend Brigitte Bardot has defended herself in a Paris court against charges that she incited racial hatred in a best-selling book.

“I never knowingly wanted to hurt anybody. It is not in my character. If I did hurt someone, I’m sorry,” the former screen siren-turned animal rights campaigner told the hearing.

But Bardot, 69, also spoke out against racial mixing and expressed worries about the “infiltration” of France by Islamic extremists.

“Among Muslims, I think there some who are very good and some hoodlums, like everywhere,” said Bardot, who leaned on a cane and wore a black jacket and trousers, with red plastic flowers in her hair.

Her book, Un Cri Dans le Silence” (A Cry in the Silence), topped French non-fiction bestseller lists last year. It took on issues such as racial mixing, immigration, the role of women in politics and Islam. Bardot wrote that she opposed “the Islamisation of France”.

The prosecutor asked for Bardot’s conviction but left any penalty for the court to decide. The maximum punishment is one year imprisonment, but Bardot is expected to escape ith a fine if found guilty. A verdict is expected next month.

Bardot acknowledged her literary shortcomings.

“Certainly, I’m not Balzac,” she said.

“The court noticed,” replied chief judge Catherine Bezio.

Bardot has previous convictions for inciting racial violence after she criticised in print the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep.