Galliano faces 'insult' couple

Fashion designer John Galliano is due at a Paris police station today to face accusations he made anti-Semitic slurs, as a new video emerged of him praising Hitler.

He is expected to meet a couple that accused him of insulting them during an argument at a trendy Paris cafe while he sat alone sipping a cocktails.

Tests showed Galliano was more than twice the French driving limit after the incident.

Fashion house Christian Dior has suspended Galliano, its creative director, pending an investigation, citing its “zero-tolerance” policy on anti-Semitism.

It is scheduled to present its autumn-winter 2011-2012 ready-to-wear show on Friday as part of Paris fashion week.

Following media reports on the incident, another woman went to police accusing Galliano of similar anti-Semitic insults at her in October at the same restaurant – La Perle, in the Marais district.

A video posted on the website of the Sun today showed Galliano arguing with a couple at La Perle. It was unclear when the video was recorded, but in it, he was dressed differently than he was on Thursday.

At one point in the video, starting in mid-conversation, a woman’s voice asks Galliano, “Are you blond, with blue eyes?”

Galliano, speaking in slurred speech, replied: “No, but I love Hitler, and people like you would be dead today. Your mothers, your forefathers, would be ... gassed and ... dead.”

The newspaper said neither of the people speaking with Galliano were Jewish.

Galliano’s lawyer Stephane Zerbib said he did not know when the video was filmed, and “there’s no comment on that ... What matters isn’t what’s on the internet, what matters are the testimonies and the hearings.”

“What’s on the internet doesn’t have much value,” he said.

Making anti-Semitic remarks is illegal in France, and can carry up to six months in prison. Some public figures have been convicted on such charges in the past, but are usually given only suspended sentences.