Last year we noted a report about French “comedian” Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala, who appeared on French television dressed as an Orthodox Jew, shouting “Heil Israel” while making the Nazi salute.

Today a report came over the AP wire that Dieudonne will be prosecuted under French hate crime laws:

PARIS - A well-known French comic will be prosecuted for on-air antics that included dressing up as an Orthodox Jew and decrying an “American-Zionist” axis, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Friday.

Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala’s performance, which drew criticism from the French prime minister, came during a prime-time TV show, “On Ne Peut Pas Plaire a Tout le Monde,” (“You Can’t Please Everybody”) on Dec. 1.

As part of the skit, the comic raised an arm and shouted “Isra-Heil!” — a reference to the Nazi slogan, “Heil Hitler.”

Prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation Dec. 24 into whether the comic’s skit and “incriminating comments” constituted racial defamation.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has said he was “shocked” by the performance, and the show’s host, Marc-Olivier Fogiel, apologized for the episode. Several Jewish groups complained.

On Thursday, Justice Minister Dominique Perben said that “justice would be inflexible” if racism is proven.