22-year-old Marie Laguerre was the victim of the unprovoked assault caught on CCTV in Paris.
A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to six months in prison after a video went viral in which he can be seen slapping a young woman.
The 22-year-old victim, Marie Laguerre, accused the man of lashing out after she told him to stop harassing her while she walked down a street in Paris in July. The BBC reports the 25-year-old man, who has been identified only as Firaz M under French court rules, was sentenced to half a year in jail, fined €2,000 (£1,770) in damages, and ordered not to contact Marie.
In the video, which was recorded on CCTV and later uploaded to Facebook by Marie herself, you can see Firaz say something to the young woman as he crosses her path. Marie later shared that her assaulter had made "noises with sexual connotations", as well as degrading remarks towards her.
Marie can be seen responding to the man, before they walk away down separate sides of a restaurant's outdoor seating area. But seconds later, with the vocal exchange evidently having continued, Firaz walks around to the other side of the restaurant, where Marie is, and slaps her so hard she almost falls to the ground.
In the CCTV footage, the customers at the restaurant look visibly shocked at what's just happened, with one man even jumping up from his seat and grabbing a chair to confront Firaz. Firaz, however, simply walks off.
The video triggered conversation about the daily sexual harassment women endure, and the risks they face when standing up for themselves. In the aftermath of the incident, lawmakers in France passed a bill banning gender-based harassment on the streets and on public transport. Anyone found to be sexually harassing another person will be fined up to €750 (around £660).
Following the slapping incident, Firaz M was ordered by the court to get psychological care and to take a course about gender-related violence. Prosecuting lawyers described the man as "violent and impulsive".
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