PARIS — Marine Le Pen on Wednesday accused prosecutors of seeking to sentence her to “political death” in a “politicized” embezzlement trial that could jeopardize her chances at running for president. In an interview with French radio station RTL, the longtime leader of the French far right, said the punishment being sought by prosecutors — which includes an immediate five-year ban on running for office — is tantamount to “a political death sentence because it’s irreparable.” “There’s real outrage … the public prosecutor’s office has created a disturbance of the peace with its demands,” Le Pen said. Le Pen, along with…
Author: Victor Goury-Laffont
PARIS — Two women were found guilty of libel on Thursday and ordered to pay thousands of euros in damages after spreading a fake transphobic rumor that French first lady Brigitte Macron was born a man and is living as a transgender woman. The duo, a self-described independent journalist and the host of a YouTube channel, alleged without proof in a 2021 video posted to the platform that Macron had been born as Jean-Michel Trogneux and had later changed her name and gender. Trogneux, who is actually Macron’s brother, participated in the trial. The false claims were spread well beyond…