A man who punched a woman outside a Paris cafe, prompting outrage after a video of the assault went viral, was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay a €2,000 fine, lawyers in France have said, reports The Guardian.
The video of the attack on a 22-year-old student, Marie Laguerre, which she uploaded to social media, bolstered support for plans to punish sexual harassment on France’s streets and public transport with fines.
The court determined that the defendant, named only as Firas M, was responsible for his acts when he punched Laguerre.
The sentence also included a suspended six-month jail term and and order for him to undergo treatment for drug and alcohol problems.
Noémie Saidi-Cottier, Laguerre’s lawyer, said: “My client wanted a punishment but she didn’t want his head to roll, she just wanted him to learn a lesson. If he never does that again, she feels she has won.”