Pro-Palestinian protester fined 300 euros for entering Tour route

The pro-Palestinian protester who ran onto the course during the Tour stage to Toulouse has been fined 300 euros by the court.

It was a striking moment in this year’s Tour de France. While Jonas Abrahamsen was sprinting against Mauro Schmid for the stage win, a pro-Palestinian demonstrator walked onto the course wearing a white t-shirt with 'Israel out of the Tour' and a Palestinian scarf.

According to the prosecutor, the actions of the 26-year-old man, although no injuries occurred, were dangerous and could have had much more serious consequences. The protester disagreed. He said he had carefully planned his action with the goal of not interrupting the race or endangering the riders.

The judge did not fully agree and imposed a fine of 300 euros. The protester was satisfied afterwards. "Politically, my goal has been achieved. The aim was to get people talking about the people in Gaza, and that succeeded," AFP quoted him as saying.