Latest news with #FrançoisHollande
Local France
07-06-2025
- Business
- Local France
Inside France: Paris' in-Seine plan and the adventures of wax Macron
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It's published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article. Loopholes Can you really have the butter and the money to buy the butter, as the French say? Anti-fraud officers used to use the phrase 'if it seems too good to be true, it probably is' as a way to warn people about scams, and I think we need to create a new version of this - 'with French admin, there are no loopholes'. While it's possible to benefit from gaps in the French residency and tax system, almost without fail, this ends up causing further problems down the line. For example, if you claim French residency while really being a second-home owner, you'll find yourself ensnared by the tax requirements for French residents. Conversely keeping yourself as a non-resident in order to avoid French taxes means that you won't see any of the benefits that French residents enjoy. Here at The Local we often deal with people who have found themselves in a French admin tangle by trying to exploit some loophole - in almost all cases it's simply not worth the hassle. That's not to say that there aren't aspects of the French system that are genuinely confusing, contradictory or a legal grey area - one of these is remote working for foreigners, although this became a little clearer this week after clarification from the French tax office . READ ALSO What you need to know about remote working in France Advertisement Talking France We discuss how to move to France as a remote worker in a way that won't create residency or tax problems on this week's Talking France podcast, plus smoking on café terraces and how Uber changed France (via an anecdote about a foul-mouthed Courtney Love tirade to president François Hollande). Listen here or on the link below. Good goddess Paris city hall announced this week that it is seeking 'legal personhood' for the River Seine . While this might sound like an in-seine idea (sorry), it is part of a coordinated international environmental campaign to gain more protection for natural sites. Advertisement It's an interesting plan, although not certain to succeed - but let's not forget that the Seine already has a personification. Remember the rider on the ghostly horse galloping down the Seine during the Olympics opening ceremony last summer? That was Sequana, the goddess of the river. I hope she approves of the mairie 's plan. Floriane Issert, a Gendarmerie non-commissioned officer of the National Gendarmerie, rides on a metal horse up the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP And talking of rivers, Paris in fact has not one but two - although the other is underground. The Bièvre river was covered over in the 19th century, mostly because it had become so polluted it was judged a health hazard, but there are plans , albeit at an early stage, to open it up again. Skulls, beer and a river: Discover the secrets of underground Paris Kidnap victim Also in France this week we've been following with amusement the kidnapping of president Emmanuel Macron. In case that sounds slightly flippant, it was actually his waxwork that was snatched from the Musée Grévin, Paris' equivalent to Madame Tussauds. Advertisement Wax Macron joined a protest at the Russian Embassy and then popped up protesting outside the Edf headquarters before his kidnappers - who turned out to be Greenpeace activists - returned him safely to the museum. No ransom was demanded - and it might have been an expensive one since wax Macron is apparently worth €40,000, due to his painstaking and labour-intensive production methods. The wax statue of French President Emmanuel Macron was delivered back to the Grevin Museum in a flight case. Photo by Xavier GALIANA / AFP Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It's published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
LeMonde
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
How an American mom is now part of my (French mom's) life
The more I think about it, the more I realize one of Instagram's unique features is the way it brings public figures into our private lives. Not just as celebrities gracing glossy magazine covers. Of course, I remember historic paparazzi moments: François Hollande on his scooter date, Jacques Chirac naked on the balcony of the Brégançon presidential summer residence, Kate Middleton sunbathing topless on another balcony, Britney Spears with her shaved head. Those were all glimpses into the private lives of public figures, obviously, but they were rare instances. And the private sphere was blown into the public by the media, in the traditionnal sense of the term, as an intermediary. Instagram people are a bit different. They really are with us. For one thing, they live inside our phones, so they're here all the time. For another, because of the way the Meta platform algorithm works, when you scroll through the app, you get an endless feed of close friends, strangers with whom you have much in common, ads and, of course, public figures. All these people are part of our daily lives, creating a strange mirror effect that erases the media as an intermediary: they reveal their own private and sometimes mundane moments as we sit in our living rooms, in bed or even in the bathroom. These recurring characters can quickly create a kind of artificial familiarity. This is how, the other night, while brushing my teeth, I told my partner, almost as if I were talking about a coworker or a friend, "Hey, Isabelle Bertolami is pregnant!" He asked how old her eldest was and where she would give birth. In short, a typical parent conversation, except for one small detail: neither of us has ever met Isabelle Bertolami. She's an American living in Aix-en-Provence with her husband and daughter, documenting her family life for her 242,000 followers. The American myth of the French mom Bertolami is what we call an Instagram American mom: mothers who praise the French parenting model, without too much concern with avoiding generalizations or ensuring accuracy. It's a way of feeding the American myth of the French mom: the mother who is both gentle and strict, attentive but not indulgent with a tyrannical child, fulfilled in her career, always impeccably dressed and manicured (she writes, typing with chipped nails).
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Macron's marital shove disappears from French airwaves
In this grab taken from video, France's President Emmanuel Macron prepares to disembark a plane on arrival, in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh) A quick shove. A split-second clip that would have dominated news for days aired in France for just 24 hours and then it was gone. When a viral video appeared over the weekend showing French President Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte, pushing his face just as he was about to deplane during a visit to Vietnam, not a single French newspaper front page featured it the next morning. Was it because Prime Minister François Bayrou was speaking about the financial efforts the French would have to make under his soon-to-be-unveiled budget? Or that people were detained recently in a string of crypto kidnappings? More likely, it highlighted a cultural divide between France and the Anglosphere – a long-standing French belief that politicians' private lives should be protected. This secret-keeping tradition kept President François Mitterrand's illegitimate daughter hidden for years. It has also meant a delicate silence around other controversial personal lives, like Dominique Strauss-Kahn's notorious womanizing. The former International Monetary Fund chief's arrest on sexual assault charges in New York in 2011 abruptly ended his political career just as he was emerging as a leading presidential contender. The same unwritten rules surfaced in 2014, when Closer magazine published photos of former President François Hollande – disguised by a motorcycle helmet – arriving at the apartment of a friend, where he was reportedly meeting actress Julie Gayet. At the time, Gayet was his girlfriend, even though he still had a live-in partner, Valérie Trierweiler. The story caused a stir, but Hollande's office condemned the 'invasion of privacy,' and the media soon backed off. At a press conference, Hollande faced only one question about his personal life and deflected it with the remark, 'private affairs are dealt with in private,' silencing the throng of French journalists and leaving foreign reporters stunned. So when the video of the Macrons began circulating, the initial media response was swift but short-lived. French outlets played the clip on loop, dissected it briefly, and moved on. But that core rule is now being tested. 'Over time, these kinds of personal stories have become far more difficult to contain than they were 30 or even 20 years ago,' said Thierry Arnaud, an international correspondent and veteran journalist at BFMTV. 'It's true we didn't make a big deal of it, but it's deeply embarrassing for Macron. You're intruding on a couple's intimate moment and it's uncomfortable, both for him and for those watching.' Macron's relationship with Brigitte was always unconventional. They met when he was just 15, and she was his drama teacher at a private school in Amiens. She was 24 years older, married, and a mother of three. What began as mentorship grew into something deeper, and by the time Macron graduated, he had vowed to one day marry her. 'Whatever you do, I will marry you,' he reportedly told her as a teenager. Their story was used as campaign material in 2017, they made a point of making their relationship public, posing in glossy French magazines and describing their marriage as a celebration of an atypical but loving modern family. Any critics were labeled misogynists. 'It was completely a badge of honor at first, a special kind of glamour that added to his (Macron's) image of being daring both politically and personally. He fell in love with his teacher as a teenager and pursued it, come what may. Over time, that picture has eroded,' Arnaud said. After the Vietnam shoving incident, the couple publicly displayed unity that very evening, walking hand in hand through the streets of Hanoi in a clear effort to quell any rumors of domestic discord. But the line between public and private is blurring. Traditionally, the Élysée Palace has maintained a strict policy of never commenting on rumors or politicians' personal lives. However, with the rise of social media and disinformation campaigns they are being dragged into these personal controversies, challenging that long-held stance. In March, conservative commentator Candace Owens revived an absurd conspiracy theory with a YouTube video titled 'Is France's First Lady a Man?' Promoted widely on X, Owens called it 'likely the biggest scandal in political history.' Since then, Owens has produced numerous videos about Brigitte Macron for her 4 million YouTube subscribers, including a multi-part series called Becoming Brigitte. Although the claims are completely baseless and Brigitte Macron has successfully sued two French women for spreading them it has elicited a response from the president. At a Paris event in March 2024, Macron addressed the rumor head-on saying that the worst part of being a president is having to deal with 'the false information and fabricated stories.' 'People end up believing them, and it disrupts your life, even in your most private moments,' Macron said. His words now feel prophetic, with the world speculating on a deeply intimate exchange we may never be let into.
CNN
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Macron's marital shove disappears from French airwaves
A quick shove. A split-second clip that would have dominated US news for days aired in France for just 24 hours and then it was gone. When a viral video appeared over the weekend showing French President Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte, pushing his face just as he was about to deplane during a visit to Vietnam, not a single French newspaper front page featured it the next morning. Was it because Prime Minister François Bayrou was speaking about the financial efforts the French would have to make under his soon-to-be-unveiled budget? Or that people were detained recently in a string of crypto kidnappings? More likely, it highlighted a cultural divide between France and the Anglosphere – a long-standing French belief that politicians' private lives should be protected. This secret-keeping tradition kept President François Mitterrand's illegitimate daughter hidden for years. It has also meant a delicate silence around other controversial personal lives, like Dominique Strauss-Kahn's notorious womanizing. The former International Monetary Fund chief's arrest on sexual assault charges in New York in 2011 abruptly ended his political career just as he was emerging as a leading presidential contender. The same unwritten rules surfaced in 2014, when Closer magazine published photos of former President François Hollande – disguised by a motorcycle helmet – arriving at the apartment of a friend, where he was reportedly meeting actress Julie Gayet. At the time, Gayet was his girlfriend, even though he still had a live-in partner, Valérie Trierweiler. The story caused a stir, but Hollande's office condemned the 'invasion of privacy,' and the media soon backed off. At a press conference, Hollande faced only one question about his personal life and deflected it with the remark, 'private affairs are dealt with in private,' silencing the throng of French journalists and leaving foreign reporters stunned. So when the video of the Macrons began circulating, the initial media response was swift but short-lived. French outlets played the clip on loop, dissected it briefly, and moved on. But that core rule is now being tested. 'Over time, these kinds of personal stories have become far more difficult to contain than they were 30 or even 20 years ago,' said Thierry Arnaud, an international correspondent and veteran journalist at BFMTV. 'It's true we didn't make a big deal of it, but it's deeply embarrassing for Macron. You're intruding on a couple's intimate moment and it's uncomfortable, both for him and for those watching.' Macron's relationship with Brigitte was always unconventional. They met when he was just 15, and she was his drama teacher at a private school in Amiens. She was 24 years older, married, and a mother of three. What began as mentorship grew into something deeper, and by the time Macron graduated, he had vowed to one day marry her. 'Whatever you do, I will marry you,' he reportedly told her as a teenager. Their story was used as campaign material in 2017, they made a point of making their relationship public, posing in glossy French magazines and describing their marriage as a celebration of an atypical but loving modern family. Any critics were labeled misogynists. 'It was completely a badge of honor at first, a special kind of glamour that added to his (Macron's) image of being daring both politically and personally. He fell in love with his teacher as a teenager and pursued it, come what may. Over time, that picture has eroded,' Arnaud said. After the Vietnam shoving incident, the couple publicly displayed unity that very evening, walking hand in hand through the streets of Hanoi in a clear effort to quell any rumors of domestic discord. But the line between public and private is blurring. Traditionally, the Élysée Palace has maintained a strict policy of never commenting on rumors or politicians' personal lives. However, with the rise of social media and disinformation campaigns they are being dragged into these personal controversies, challenging that long-held stance. In March, conservative commentator Candace Owens revived an absurd conspiracy theory with a YouTube video titled 'Is France's First Lady a Man?' Promoted widely on X, Owens called it 'likely the biggest scandal in political history.' Since then, Owens has produced numerous videos about Brigitte Macron for her 4 million YouTube subscribers, including a multi-part series called Becoming Brigitte. Although the claims are completely baseless and Brigitte Macron has successfully sued two French women for spreading them it has elicited a response from the president. At a Paris event in March 2024, Macron addressed the rumor head-on saying that the worst part of being a president is having to deal with 'the false information and fabricated stories.' 'People end up believing them, and it disrupts your life, even in your most private moments,' Macron said. His words now feel prophetic, with the world speculating on a deeply intimate exchange we may never be let into.
CNN
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Macron's marital shove disappears from French airwaves
A quick shove. A split-second clip that would have dominated US news for days aired in France for just 24 hours and then it was gone. When a viral video appeared over the weekend showing French President Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte, pushing his face just as he was about to deplane during a visit to Vietnam, not a single French newspaper front page featured it the next morning. Was it because Prime Minister François Bayrou was speaking about the financial efforts the French would have to make under his soon-to-be-unveiled budget? Or that people were detained recently in a string of crypto kidnappings? More likely, it highlighted a cultural divide between France and the Anglosphere – a long-standing French belief that politicians' private lives should be protected. This secret-keeping tradition kept President François Mitterrand's illegitimate daughter hidden for years. It has also meant a delicate silence around other controversial personal lives, like Dominique Strauss-Kahn's notorious womanizing. The former International Monetary Fund chief's arrest on sexual assault charges in New York in 2011 abruptly ended his political career just as he was emerging as a leading presidential contender. The same unwritten rules surfaced in 2014, when Closer magazine published photos of former President François Hollande – disguised by a motorcycle helmet – arriving at the apartment of a friend, where he was reportedly meeting actress Julie Gayet. At the time, Gayet was his girlfriend, even though he still had a live-in partner, Valérie Trierweiler. The story caused a stir, but Hollande's office condemned the 'invasion of privacy,' and the media soon backed off. At a press conference, Hollande faced only one question about his personal life and deflected it with the remark, 'private affairs are dealt with in private,' silencing the throng of French journalists and leaving foreign reporters stunned. So when the video of the Macrons began circulating, the initial media response was swift but short-lived. French outlets played the clip on loop, dissected it briefly, and moved on. But that core rule is now being tested. 'Over time, these kinds of personal stories have become far more difficult to contain than they were 30 or even 20 years ago,' said Thierry Arnaud, an international correspondent and veteran journalist at BFMTV. 'It's true we didn't make a big deal of it, but it's deeply embarrassing for Macron. You're intruding on a couple's intimate moment and it's uncomfortable, both for him and for those watching.' Macron's relationship with Brigitte was always unconventional. They met when he was just 15, and she was his drama teacher at a private school in Amiens. She was 24 years older, married, and a mother of three. What began as mentorship grew into something deeper, and by the time Macron graduated, he had vowed to one day marry her. 'Whatever you do, I will marry you,' he reportedly told her as a teenager. Their story was used as campaign material in 2017, they made a point of making their relationship public, posing in glossy French magazines and describing their marriage as a celebration of an atypical but loving modern family. Any critics were labeled misogynists. 'It was completely a badge of honor at first, a special kind of glamour that added to his (Macron's) image of being daring both politically and personally. He fell in love with his teacher as a teenager and pursued it, come what may. Over time, that picture has eroded,' Arnaud said. After the Vietnam shoving incident, the couple publicly displayed unity that very evening, walking hand in hand through the streets of Hanoi in a clear effort to quell any rumors of domestic discord. But the line between public and private is blurring. Traditionally, the Élysée Palace has maintained a strict policy of never commenting on rumors or politicians' personal lives. However, with the rise of social media and disinformation campaigns they are being dragged into these personal controversies, challenging that long-held stance. In March, conservative commentator Candace Owens revived an absurd conspiracy theory with a YouTube video titled 'Is France's First Lady a Man?' Promoted widely on X, Owens called it 'likely the biggest scandal in political history.' Since then, Owens has produced numerous videos about Brigitte Macron for her 4 million YouTube subscribers, including a multi-part series called Becoming Brigitte. Although the claims are completely baseless and Brigitte Macron has successfully sued two French women for spreading them it has elicited a response from the president. At a Paris event in March 2024, Macron addressed the rumor head-on saying that the worst part of being a president is having to deal with 'the false information and fabricated stories.' 'People end up believing them, and it disrupts your life, even in your most private moments,' Macron said. His words now feel prophetic, with the world speculating on a deeply intimate exchange we may never be let into.
