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Insulting The French President Is No Longer Always A Crime

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene.

Next time you're in France, if you're moved to call the country's president stupid, it's OK. It's no longer a crime. Yesterday, the French parliament got rid of an old law from the 1880s that made insulting the president in public an automatic criminal offense. That's good news for former President Nicolas Sarkozy. He apparently called his successor, President Francois Hollande, a, quote, "ridiculous little fat man who dyes his hair."

You're listening to MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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