Cédric Herrou, the French farmer who lives on the border with Italy and helps migrants attempting to cross the frontier, has been sentenced by the Nice tribunal to pay a simple fine of three thousand euros. The judges found him guilty of having picked up migrants directly on Italian soil.
The farmer was, however, acquitted of all other charges, starting with that of having allowed dozens of Eritrean migrants, without authorisation, to occupy an Sncf (French state railway) holiday centre last October. The facility is located in the small town of Saint Dalmas de Tende, and its use to shelter foreign nationals was the subject of strong protests from local administrations governed by conservatives of the Les Républicains party.

The prosecution had requested eight months in prison

The prosecution had initially sought a sentence of eight months in prison. "Now I will be able to continue acting to alleviate the suffering of migrants," Herrou commented after the tribunal's ruling. "It certainly won't be the threats of a prefect or the insults of some politician that will stop me. I will continue, because it is necessary to continue."
The Roya valley lies on the border with lower Piedmont, not far from Ventimiglia. For this reason it represents a favoured entry point for bypassing the Ligurian border. For months, hundreds of migrants — the majority of whom arrived on Italian shores and then crossed the entire country with the aim of entering French soil — have been venturing along a gruelling and dangerous route. Amid railway tracks, motorways, mountain paths, cold and snow.