Brigitte Bardot is on trial again this week for inciting racial hatred in France.  The 73-year-old French actress has previously been fined four times since 1997 for breaking strict anti-racism laws.

In France it is against the law to incite racial or religious discrimination or hatred of any sort.

Bardot’s current trial happened after she wrote a letter in 2004 to the current president (then interior minister) Nicolas Sarkozy stating her views against the Muslim Festival of Eid-al-Kabir, which traditionally includes the slaughtering of a sheep.

In the letter, the star attributed France’s perceived decline to it’s growing Muslim population.  “I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing it’s act” wrote Bardot.

The MRAP group (The activist group Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between People), filed suit against Ms Bardot last year.

The assistant prosecutor of Bardot’s case made it clear how she felt dealing with her and racism issues repeatedly and asked the judge for a fine of $24,000 and a two-month suspended prison sentence.