Madonna's ex boyfriend is fined 1 EURO for selfie with sleeping Jean-Marie Le Pen

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Frenchman Brahim Zaibat posted selfie with sleeping Jean-Marie Le Pen
He then shared the unflattering image on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Le Pen claimed the snap stopped National Front winning regional elections
Court found the snap didn't violate Mr Le Pen's exclusive right to his image

By Imogen Calderwood and Peter Allen In Paris for MailOnline

Published: 14:18 EST, 10 February 2016 | Updated: 15:54 EST, 10 February 2016

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Madonna's ex-boyfriend has been fined just one euro after taking an unflattering selfie with the French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen while he slept.

Mr Le Pen, 87, was fast asleep on a plane when fellow Frenchman Brahim Zaibat, 29, snapped him on the flight between Paris and the southern city of Nice.

Mr Zaibat, a professional dancer who dated the queen of pop for three years, then shared the photo on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Snap: Brahim Zaibat (left) can be seen wearing headphones as he took a selfie with sleeping French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, who took him to court for taking the unflattering photo and posting it to social media

The unflattering snap - which showed Mr Le Pen with his head back and mouth hanging open - was tweeted more than 12,000 times after it was posted on December 12, ahead of France's regional elections.

The dancer can be seen in the seat behind Mr Le Pen, wearing headphones and smiling broadly.

But a Paris court has ordered Mr Zaibat to remove the offending image, after Mr Le Pen took him to court for invasion of privacy and copyright.

Although the National Front founder was seeking 50,000 euros (£39,000) in damages, Mr Zaibat was only fined a token one euro, reported The Local.

The court found that while the photo 'was of a humorous nature and was used to send a political message', it did not violate Mr Le Pen's exclusive right to his image, according to French law.

Celebrity: The French professional dancer dated Madonna (pictured at Heathrow Airport with then boyfriend Brahim and her sons Rocco and David Banda in 2011) for three years

Star: A Paris court decided the selfie did not violate Mr Le Pen's exclusive right to his image, according to French law. Pictured, Zaibat on stage with Madonna (left) and at a gala event in New York (right)

Queen of pop: Madonna - who dated the French dancer for three years - performs during her 'Rebel Heart' tour in California

It added that the photo, which was actually taken two years ago, was 'neither degrading nor malicious'.

However, Mr Zaibat was also ordered to pay 3,000 euros (£2,300) in legal fees and take down the image within 48 hours or be fined 1,000 euros (£780) for every day it remained online.

Mr Zaibat used the image to urge voters not to back Mr Le Pen's far right National Front (NF) party in the second round of regional elections in December.

'Let's all vote tomorrow to give them a knock-out blow, to preserve our brotherly France' wrote Mr Zaibat, whose father comes from a North African immigrant background.

Insult: Mr Zaibat was ordered to pay a fine of just one euro as a token, after the court ruled that the image was 'neither degrading nor malicious'. Mr Le Pen claimed the selfie caused the defeat of the National Front party at France's regional elections in December

Mr Le Pen said the photo harmed his public image, and contributed to the defeat of the party in the elections.

The National Front, which is now led by his daughter, Marine Le Pen, constantly campaigns against immigration, especially from former French African colonies such as Algeria.

Mr Le Pen is a convicted racist and anti-Semite who has often complained about the number of people with foreign backgrounds in France.

He was officially expelled from the party last year because of his extreme views about the Nazi Holocaust, but remains an NF affiliated MEP.

Mr Zaibat’s lawyer Vincent Toledano confirmed that he would appeal the decision.