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Guerlain perfume heir accused of racism in trial

By AP  | February 09, 2012
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PARIS (AP) — An heir to the Guerlain perfume empire went on trial Thursday in Paris on charges he made racist insults on national television.

Jean-Paul Guerlain faces up to six months in prison and euro22,500 ($29,900) in fines if convicted.

Anti-racism groups filed a legal complaint after Guerlain made comments on France-2 television in 2010 using a French word for black people in a derogatory way as he described how hard he worked to create one of the company's most famed perfumes.

Patrick Klugman, lawyer for the SOS Racism association, said the 74-year-old heir abused the national platform he was given.

"We are pursuing someone whose name is famous worldwide, who was given a stage to promote himself and express himself — and many could envy that — during a televised news bulletin. So I think we should be particularly attentive to how he used this platform, what he said," Klugman said.

Guerlain's lawyer Basile Ader told BFM television that Guerlain "never wanted to offend anyone ... he is not a racist."

The lawyer sought to explain the "unfortunate phrase" by saying Guerlain is a man of "a certain generation."

Guerlain later apologized for the remarks.

Guerlain is the great-great-grandson of the founder of the Guerlain cosmetics company, now owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

LVMH was embarrassed last year when designer John Galliano — who worked for LVMH subsidiary Christian Dior — was convicted of anti-Semitic comments.

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