The court heard on Thursday that the man, 46 and of Indian origin, had been racially abusing his neighbour since 2004.

“This guy… has been bothering his neighbour for several years, to the point where the neighbours even started a petition,” said a source close to the case, according to le Parisien.

The neighbour went to the police last July, when the man, who appeared to be drunk, shouted at her through the window “dirty white woman” and “I’m going to smash your face in and break your door down.”

The man denies all charges of racial abuse, but admits to being drunk on the night in question.