The French news and current affairs magazine "Le point" was fined for its insulting remarks against the Chinese. (BBC Chinese website)

January 25 (CNS) - According to the Agence France-Presse reports on the BBC's Chinese website, the courts fined the famous French magazine "Le point" 1,500 euros (roughly $2,000) because it called its local Chinese "stingy, work-obsessed tax evaders”.

SOS Racisme, a local anti-racism organization, established these legal proceedings by using the insulting language from the article "The Devious Success of the Chinese in France", which was published in the magazine on August 23, 2012.

Franz-Olivier Giesbert, the editor-in-chief of "Le point", argued that the article is a humorous piece that had been misconstrued.

Accompanying the article was text that listed the "Five Commandments of the Chinese businessman”, which included, "Thou shalt work 80 hours a week", "Thou shalt sleep in thy shop”, and "Thou shalt not pay taxes."

The court said that three of the points were defamatory and rejected Giesbert's "humorous piece" excuse.

Alexandre Braun, the lawyer for SOS Racisme told AFP,”To the best of our knowledge, this is a first in France.”

The court also ordered Giesbert to pay 1,500 euros to SOS Racisme as compensation and to cover the costs of their legal fees.

The AJCF, a body representing Chinese youths living in France, hailed the verdict as both "historical" and "monumental".