Brigitte Bardot in court for racial slurs

PARIS, May 7 (UPI) -- Film legend Brigitte Bardot apologized in a Paris court where she faced charges of inciting racial hatred with her book "A Cry in the Silence."

Bardot apologized for parts of her book in which she said she "opposed the Islamization of France," spoke out against racial mixing and expressed concern about the "infiltration" of France by Islamic extremists, the BBC reported Friday.

"I never knowingly wanted to hurt anybody," Bardot said Thursday. "It is not in my character."

If convicted, Bardot faces up to a year in jail or a fine. A verdict is expected in June.

Bardot, an animal rights activist, has prior convictions for inciting racial violence after she criticized in print the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep.