Deliveroo courier jailed by French court for refusing to deliver Jewish food

Algerian citizen will be deported after serving four-month prison sentence

A Deliveroo driver delivering food. An Algerian courier, 19, who worked for the company has been sentenced to jail. Courtesy of Deliveroo 

A French court on Thursday sentenced a Deliveroo courier to four months in jail for discrimination after he refused to deliver meals from Jewish restaurants.

Two restaurant owners in France's eastern city of Strasbourg filed complaints last week after alleging the courier, 19, cancelled delivery orders when he found out they were for "Israeli food".

One of the restaurateurs told the court that the man said: "I don't deliver to Jews."

"French law prohibits discrimination of any kind. You have to respect everyone in this country," Judge Bertrand Gautier said at the trial.

He said that the courier, an Algerian who entered France on a tourist visa that has since expired, fraudulently used an associate's Deliveroo codes and had his proceeds transferred to the account of a third person.

The courier was also ordered to leave the country after serving his sentence, the deportation confirmed in a tweet by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Speaking via an interpreter, the man admitted to cancelling the orders but denied saying he would not deliver to Jewish people.

The Israelite Consistory of the Bas-Rhin department also filed a complaint against Deliveroo, which vowed to take immediate action if the allegations were proved.

"We are relieved by the conclusion of this inquiry, which allowed the identification of the person who carried out these hateful acts, thanks to close co-operation between Deliveroo and the police," said Melvina Sarfati El Grably, the company's general manager for France.