PARIS: A French court on Thursday acquitted a policeman who described a woman who filed a sexual assault complaint as a "w****" in a 2022 case that sparked outrage.
The woman, then 34, filed a complaint at a Paris police station in February 2022 saying she had been assaulted in the street after several drinks on a night out.
A male police officer later rang her, leaving a message on her answer phone asking her to come back and finish the paperwork.
Thinking she had hung up, he then started insulting her, calling her a "w****" twice and a "fat w****" once, according to a recording of the message published by investigative website Mediapart.
The story sparked indignation from activists, who said it reflected how many police officers treated victims of sexual violence.
In a rare such comment, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the officer should be fired.
The policeman was charged with "non-public insult because of gender".
A Paris court found him not guilty, the judge told AFP. The details of the decision were not immediately available.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Arie Alimi, said his client would appeal.
The woman judge "did not consider a policeman telling a woman who had been sexually assaulted she was a 'fat w****' to be a sexist insult", he said.
"The judiciary continues to protect police officers."
The verdict, which came as France marks its second national day against sexism at the initiative of President Emmanuel Macron, was met with disbelief online.
"'Fat w****' isn't a sexist insult? Thank you to the... court for this contribution to the national day against sexism," Socialist Senator Laurence Rossignol wrote on X.
During the trial, the police officer apologised and said he had to beg Darmanin to keep his job.
He was suspended for more than four months, then transferred and forbidden from contact with people filing complaints or those they accused. — AFP