A French court has convicted fashion icon John Galliano of making anti-Semitic remarks, but it gave him a suspended sentence, taking into account his apology to the victims.

The Paris court Thursday found Galliano guilty of making anti-Semitic insults in a public place, when he yelled ethnic slurs at some customers in a cafe and told a woman that he loved Hitler and that her parents most likely were gassed to death. The accusations earlier this year cost Galliano his job at the luxury fashion house Dior.

Galliano, who did not attend Thursday's announcement of the verdict, was handed a suspended fine of $8,400 and ordered to pay the plaintiffs' legal fees. The court also ordered him to pay a symbolic euro in damages to each of the complainants.

The court said it based its relatively lenient decision on Galliano's lack of criminal convictions, his apology for his conduct at his trial in June, and the treatment for addiction he has sought since his arrest. It also noted the “values of tolerance” in his body of work.

One of the most celebrated designers of his generation, Galliano said he is not an anti-Semite, and that he had been under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs at the time of the incidents.