French veil attacker handed suspended sentence

A retired French teacher was today handed a one-month suspended sentence for attacking a Middle Eastern woman who was wearing a face-covering Muslim veil.

The Paris court also ordered the retiree, Jeanne Ruby, to pay €800 in damages to the victim, a citizen of the United Arab Emirates.

Ruby had been charged with “aggravated violence”, and the prosecutor in the case had asked that she be given a two-month suspended sentence.

The incident took place in February in a Paris home decor store, when Ruby bit, slapped and scratched the victim.

In a recent interview with Le Parisien newspaper, Ruby compared the veil to a “muzzle” and said she did not mean to harm the woman but just wanted to pull the garment off.