Cédric Herrou
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cédric Herrou is a French olive farmer and immigration activist. He became known in France and internationally following his arrests for helping more than 250 migrants cross into France from Italy. Herrou's efforts have been described in the media as the "French Underground railroad". After numerous convictions for assisting migrants to cross the border, Herrou's actions were found to be legal by the French Constitutional Council, which found Herrou's actions to be covered under the constitutional exercise of fraternity to others.


Life

Herrou was born in 1979 in
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionBreil-sur-Roya Breil-sur-Roya (, literally ''Breil on Roya''; or simply ''Breglio''; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Geography Breil-sur-Roya as its name says is located on the scenic and fast movi ...
. In 2015, Herrou began regularly crossing the French-Italian border near his farm to offer assistance to refugees wishing to enter France. He has been arrested several times for doing this.


Arrests and prosecution

In August 2016, Herrou was arrested while transporting eight migrants in his van across the Italian-French border. After concluding that Herrou's intent was humanitarian, the French prosecutor in Nice declined to press charges. On October 20, 2016, Herrou was arrested after he and three other activists occupied the former
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
railway station Saint-Dalmas-de-Tende, near
Tende Tende (; Italian language, Italian, Occitan language, Occitan and Royasc: ''Tenda'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. Geography Tende is located within Mercanto ...
, France. Herrou was assisting fifty migrants, principally from Eritrea and the Sudan, to cross into France from the Italian city of
Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; , ; ; ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located west of Genoa, and from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia river, w ...
and housing them at the disused railway station. The prosecutor, who called Herrou's actions "noble", requested an eight-month suspended sentence. The actual sentence is expected to be handed down by the court on February 10, 2017. On January 18, 2017 Herrou was taken into custody by local police, with his brother and one other person, for assisting three Eritrean migrants in crossing the border into France. They were released on January 20 without charges being filed. On 10 February 2017, a trial court in Nice convicted Herrou for aiding illegal arrivals and of fined him €3,000. On July 6, 2018, the French Constitutional Council ruled that Herrou's actions to help migrants were legal, since the principle of fraternity in the French constitution specifically "confers the freedom to help others, for humanitarian purposes, regardless of the legality of their presence on national territory." On May 13, 2020, the Appeals Court of Lyon voided all charges against Herrou. On March 31, 2021, the Appeal in Cassation of the General Prosecutor's Office of Lyon is rejected by the Court of Cassation makes the activist's relaxation final.


Public reaction

Herrou's actions raised the interest of the French public. Arriving for his trial in January 2017 in Nice, he was met by the applause of hundreds of members of the public who supported his actions as well as some who did not. That same month, an editorial addressing Herrou as well as the issues raised by his actions was published by the editorial board of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.


See also

* Crime of solidarity


References


External links


The Valley Rebels
a documentary on Cédric Herrou produced by
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Statement by Herrou on the ''Défends ta citoyenneté'' website
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrou, Cédric French activists Illegal immigration to France 1979 births Living people People from Nice 21st-century French farmers Immigration activism