logo
Macron sues right-wing US podcaster over claim French first lady born male

Macron sues right-wing US podcaster over claim French first lady born male

TimesLIVE4 days ago
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a defamation lawsuit in the US on Wednesday against right-wing influencer and podcaster Candace Owens, centred on her claim that France's first lady is male.
The Macrons said in a complaint filed in Delaware Superior Court that Owens has waged a lie-filled 'campaign of global humiliation' to promote her podcast and expand her 'frenzied' fan base.
These lies included that Brigitte Macron, 72, was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, the name of her older brother, the Macrons said.
'Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family and their personal history — twisting it into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade,' the complaint said.
'The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale.'
In her podcast on Wednesday, Owens said: 'This lawsuit is littered with factual inaccuracies' and part of an 'obvious and desperate public relations strategy' to smear her character.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Activist boat Handala seized off Gaza brought to Israel
Activist boat Handala seized off Gaza brought to Israel

eNCA

time17 hours ago

  • eNCA

Activist boat Handala seized off Gaza brought to Israel

Israeli forces brought the pro-Palestinian activist boat Handala into the port of Ashdod on Sunday, after seizing the vessel in international waters and detaining the crew, an AFP journalist saw. Campaigners from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition had attempted to breach an Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian territory of Gaza, but were intercepted late Saturday. The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had demanded to speak to the 21-strong international crew, which includes two French parliamentarians and two Al Jazeera journalists. "After 12 hours at sea, following the unlawful interception of the Handala, Israeli authorities confirmed the vessel's arrival at Ashdod port," said the group, set up to campaign for the rights of Israel's Arab population. "Despite repeated demands, Israeli authorities have refused to allow Adalah's lawyers access to the detained activists to provide legal consultation," it continued. "Adalah reiterates that the activists aboard the Handala were part of a peaceful civilian mission to break through Israel's illegal blockade on Gaza. The vessel was intercepted in international waters and their detention constitutes a clear violation of international law." Earlier, the Israeli foreign ministry said the navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering the coastal waters off the territory of Gaza. "The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe," it said. Just before midnight local time on Saturday, video live streamed from the Handala showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. An online tracker showed the ship in international waters west of Gaza. The ship had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory's Palestinian residents. The Handala's crew had said before their capture in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers. On board were activists from 10 countries, including two French MPs form the left-wing France Unbowed party, Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala. There are also American, European and Arab activists among those detained. A previous boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was also intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters on June 9 and towed to Ashdod. It carried 12 campaigners, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The activists were eventually expelled by Israel.

Britain 'taking forward' Gaza food airdrop plan: PM Starmer's office
Britain 'taking forward' Gaza food airdrop plan: PM Starmer's office

Eyewitness News

time2 days ago

  • Eyewitness News

Britain 'taking forward' Gaza food airdrop plan: PM Starmer's office

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday spoke to his French and German counterparts and outlined UK plans to get aid to people in Gaza and evacuate sick and injured children, his office said. "The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance," a statement said. In a phone conversation, Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza "which they agreed is appalling". "They all agreed it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace," according to a readout released by Downing Street. "They discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan.... which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region. They agreed that once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including in the region, to advance it," it added. The discussion comes a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip, calling it a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience". Aid groups have warned of surging cases of starvation, particularly among children, in war-ravaged Gaza, which Israel placed under an aid blockade in March amid its ongoing war with Hamas. That blockade was partially eased two months later. The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

UN gathering eyes solution to deadlocked Palestinian question
UN gathering eyes solution to deadlocked Palestinian question

Eyewitness News

time2 days ago

  • Eyewitness News

UN gathering eyes solution to deadlocked Palestinian question

UNITED NATIONS - Fired by France's imminent recognition of Palestinian statehood, UN members meet next week to breathe life into the push for a two-state solution as Israel, expected to be absent, presses its war in Gaza. Days before the July 28-30 conference on fostering Israeli and Palestinian states living peacefully side-by-side to be co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would formally recognize the State of Palestine in September. His declaration "will breathe new life into a conference that seemed destined to irrelevance," said Richard Gowan, an analyst at International Crisis Group. "Macron's announcement changes the game. Other participants will be scrabbling to decide if they should also declare an intent to recognize Palestine." According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states -- including France -- now recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. In 1947, a resolution of the UN General Assembly decided on the partition of Palestine, then under a British mandate, into two independent states -- one Jewish and the other Arab. The following year, the State of Israel was proclaimed, and for several decades, the vast majority of UN member states have supported the idea of a two-state solution: Israeli and Palestinian, living side-by-side peacefully and securely. But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and senior Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could be geographically impossible. The war in Gaza started following a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel, which responded with a large-scale military response that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives. The New York conference is a response to the crisis, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and several dozen ministers from around the world expected to attend. - 'No alternative' - The meeting comes as a two-state solution is "more threatened than it has ever been (but) even more necessary than before, because we see very clearly that there is no alternative," said a French diplomatic source. Beyond facilitating conditions for recognition of a Palestinian state, the meeting will have three other focuses -- reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalization of relations with Israel by Arab states that have not yet done so. The diplomatic source warned that no announcement of new normalization deals was expected next week. Ahead of the conference, which was delayed from June, Britain said it would not recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally and would wait for "a wider plan" for peace in the region. Macron has also not yet persuaded Germany to follow suit and recognize a Palestinian state in the short term. The conference "offers a unique opportunity to transform international law and the international consensus into an achievable plan and to demonstrate resolve to end the occupation and conflict once and for all, for the benefit of all peoples," said the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, calling for "courage" from participants. Israel and the United States will not take part in the meeting. Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon "has announced that Israel will not be taking part in this conference, which doesn't first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages," according to embassy spokesman Jonathan Harounoff. As international pressure continues to mount on Israel to end nearly two years of war in Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe in the ravaged coastal territory is expected to dominate speeches by representatives of more than 100 countries as they take to the podium from Monday to Wednesday. Gowan said he expected "very fierce criticism of Israel."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store