This file photo taken on May 5th shows a banner reading "liberty, equality, fraternity" hung by Greenpeace activists on the Eiffel Tower to protest against the far-right Front National (FN) party. Pho
Greenpeace activists who hung a banner from the Eiffel Tower in protest against far-right leader Marine Le Pen should be given €500 fines and suspended sentences, French prosecutors said on Friday.
Demonstrators from the environmental campaign group unfurled the banner which read "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity #Resist" from the iconic tower on May 5 last year, two days before the second round of the election.
The protest was in response to the "crazy situation" which saw the Front National leader reach the run-off vote with the eventual winner Emmanuel Macron, one activist said.
On Friday, nine of the defendants admitted having cut a safety net to carry out the protest but denied having damaged a fence.
Prosecutors asked the courts to hand each activist a three month suspended sentence and a €500 fine for trespassing. The defendants, who refused to offer a DNA sample in custody, should be handed an extra €200 fine, they added.
A Greenpeace spokeswoman said the penalties requested were "particularly severe".
The group are due to be sentenced next month.
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