29/09/2023, 12:35 SANCHEZ v. FRANCE - 45581/15 (Judgment : No Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} : Grand Chamber) [2023] ECHR 418 (1… pertinently pointed out (see paragraph 91 of its judgment). Indeed, when interpreted and assessed in their immediate context, bearing in mind that the comments were posted on a politician’s Facebook “wall” during an election campaign, they genuinely amounted to hate speech, in view of their content and general tone, together with the virulence and vulgarity of some of the language used. The reach of such remarks and comments was, moreover, not limited to the party’s members and supporters; it can be seen from the reaction of Leila T. that, on the contrary, they spread beyond a strictly partisan readership. 177. Having regard to the foregoing, the Court is of the view that the impugned comments posted by S.B. and L.R. on the applicant’s Facebook “wall” were clearly unlawful. 178. Lastly, the consideration that the comments were in line with his party’s manifesto, as the applicant claimed, is immaterial. The Court reiterates that while political parties have the right to defend their opinions in public, even if some may offend, shock or disturb part of the population, particularly when proposing solutions to problems linked to immigration, in doing so they must avoid advocating racial discrimination or resorting to vexatious or humiliating remarks or attitudes, as such conduct might trigger reactions among members of the public that would be detrimental to a peaceful social climate and might undermine confidence in the democratic institutions (see Féret, cited above, § 77). (β) The political context and the applicant’s specific liability in respect of comments posted by third parties 179. In the Delfi AS judgment ( cited above), when circumscribing its examination in order to define the scope of its assessment, the Court observed that the case concerned a “large professionally managed Internet news portal run on a commercial basis” (ibid., § 115). However, it excluded from its examination “other fora on the Internet where thirdparty comments can be disseminated”, in particular “a social media platform where the platform provider does not offer any content and where the content provider may be a private person running the website or blog as a hobby” (ibid., § 116). 180. In the present case the Court notes that the applicant’s Facebook “wall” is not comparable to a “large professionally managed Internet news portal run on a commercial basis”, contrary to the respondent Government’s argument (see paragraph 106 above). While there can be little doubt that it falls within the category of “other fora on the Internet where third-party comments can be disseminated”, as formulated in Delfi AS ( cited above, § 116), the specific features of the present case prompt the Court to approach this question in the light of the “duties and https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/418.html 69/100