Latest news with #RaphaelGlucksmann
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The bikini-wearing, chain-smoking journalist who could be the next Brigitte Macron: TV host Lea Salame is being touted as the next French First Lady - as her dashing 45-year-old husband Raphael Glucksmann eyes up the presidency
She's landed one of French TV's most coveted news jobs, but Léa Salamé's thriving career could come to an end if her partner's takes off. Last month, it was announced that the Beirut-born presenter would succeed Anne-Sophie Lapix as host of the evening news show 20 Heures on France 2 in a major programming shake-up. No sooner was the 45-year-old's appointment confirmed that Lea was forced to defend herself against critics who felt crowning her 'Queen of the 8pm' would lead to uncomfortable questions about impartiality. This is because Lea's latest job comes after her partner, rising left-wing politician Raphael Glucksmann, signalled his intent to run for President. While reiterating she would withdraw from political debates if required, the journalist added that 'the French are much more feminist than people think' and she has never felt reduced to the tag of 'the wife' while doing her job. 'From Emmanuel Macron to Marine Le Pen …I have never felt that in their eyes the were taking me for 'the wife of….',' Lea's statement read. 'Times have changed and the French, including politicians, are much more feminist than people think.' As the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron heats up, however, there's increasing interest in the country's hottest new 'power couple' - after Raphael led his Socialist-backed Place Publique party during last June's European Parliament elections. If he is elected, Lea would succeed Brigitte Macron, 72, as the country's new bikini-wearing, chain-smoking First Lady - with a track record of asking the tough questions on-air. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1979, Hala Léa is the daughter of former Lebanese minister Ghassan Salame and Mary Boghossian, who is Armenian and belongs to a family of jewellers. She has a younger sister Louma, 44, who works as an exhibitions curator. They were forced to flee the country after the civil war, when Lea was five, and relocated to Paris where the future broadcaster attended school and university. Describing her childhood, Ghassan - Lebanon's former Minister of Culture - told French newspaper Liberation that his older daughter was 'rebellious, wanted a motorbike, to be on TV'. 'I wanted her to succeed at school and not take drugs,' the Lebanese politician continued. 'As for the rest, control wasn't my thing.' Alluding to Lea's 'difficult teenage years,' he said: 'It's better to have a difficult time as a teenager. Becoming a teenager again at 40 is terrible. It's not aesthetic.' In 2001, Lea - who was studying at the prestigious French university Sciences Po - travelled to New York for a six-month internship after her father, then the Lebanese Minister of Culture, 'pushed Lea to study there'. Shortly after she arrived, with stars in her eyes, Lea witnessed the horrific 9/11 terror attacks that, ultimately, led to her pursuing a career in political journalism. Her first job was as an intern working with French TV journalist Jean-Pierre Elkabbach on the La Chaine parlementaire network. Elkabbach, who took Lea under his wing as a favour to her father, described her as a 'big, 23-year-old baby fresh out of Sciences Po' when he first met her. 'She was shy at first, introverted, but introverted like a flower just waiting to bloom,' he told Paris Match. In September 2006, Lea began working for the then-newly created international TV news France 24 where she presented the evening news segment La Soiree with Antoine Cormery. She moved to i>Tele in 2010 and covered the 2012 French presidential election for the channel as the host of a political show. Her sharp interviewing style and no-nonsense demeanour saw Lea evolve into one of the country's most recognisable broadcasters. Since 2014, Lea has hosted the 7.50am interview for radio channel France Inter. Over the course of her career, she has also conducted high-profile interviews for the French edition of GQ - including speaking to essayist and historian Jacques Attali and the late, great human rights lawyer Henri Leclerc. She met her now-husband on the set of France 2's talk show On n'est pas couché on November 14, 2015 - less than one year after she took over presenting duties from Natacha Polony. Raphael, the dashing Jewish politician, appeared on the programme one day after he'd laid his father, renowned philosopher and essayist Andrew Glucksman, to rest. French magazine Gala reported that a 'connection' between the firebrand journalist and the politician 'was born that evening' and, by early 2016, they were in a committed relationship. Six months later, Lea fell pregnant and they welcomed their son, Gabriel, in March 2017. She is also a stepmother to Raphael's first child, son Alexandre Glucksmann, who was born in 2012 from his previous relationship with Ukrainian-Georgian politician Eka Zgouladze. Lea routinely shares snippets from their life together on her Instagram account, which boasts over 205,000 followers, along with snippets from her most popular interviews over the years. She has faced off against both former French presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy during an illustrious career that was rewarded with the distinction of being France's best interviewer in 2015. 'I always thought I would be at a disadvantage when I became a television host, 15 years ago, because all the other women were blue-eyed, French blondes,' Lea told Arab News, reflecting on her early concerns that her background would hold her back at work. 'I thought that because of the differences between them and me, I would never make it,' she continued. 'It took me a while to understand that these very differences, including the fact that I was Lebanese, spontaneous and a bit bold, were responsible for my actions — such as when I told (French President Francois) Hollande that he must be joking.' She was referring to one of her most memorable on-screen moments when Lea retorted 'you must be joking' in response to Hollande's comment about refugees that was widely talked-about. Lea's fiercest critics say her combative interviewing style borders on disrespect, but others have praised her strong temperament and 'dynamism'. French journalist Marc Fauvelle, who worked with Lea at i>Tele, praised her professionalism but highlighted she has a 'princess-like side' in an interview with Paris Match around the same time that Lea was rising up the ranks. Her decades-long career has also seen controversy after Lea was criticised for her comments about alcohol consumption during an episode of her late-night talk show Quelle époque that airs on France 2. Last May, French actor and comedian Artus shared that he had quit smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol during an appearance on the show, to which Lea replied: 'Ah, you've become annoying.' Like Artus, who suggested Lea had demonstrated a 'very French' reaction, several viewers called the presenter out for normalising drinking culture in comments that were branded insensitive. She addressed the backlash during a subsequent episode of the show as Lea declared: 'I'll stop making jokes, I'll leave them to you.' Clarifying that she was not making 'an apology for alcohol', Lea said the incident forced her to confront how a throwaway remark had 'opened a real societal debate' while reflecting on the 'scale of the reaction' to her joke. Days later, however, Lea found herself at the centre of a storm after she interviewed Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche about her experiences of sexual assault and harassment while working in the entertainment industry. Referring to the Chocolat star's interview with left-wing publication Libération, she said: 'You tell everything, in fact, the touching, the kiss that a director forced on you, that other director who groped you by force in your dressing room. 'But you say: 'Very quickly, I said no, that's enough, I have my lover,'' Lea, a popular host on the France Inter radio station, continued. 'You had the courage to say no…Where others let themselves be done.' Lea's fiercest critics say her combative interviewing style borders on disrespect, but others have praised her strong temperament and 'dynamism' This statement was swiftly condemned by survivors of sexual violence, who said Lea's message amounted to 'victim blaming' that could cause a 'reversal of guilt' in messages posted on X/Twitter. One translated tweet read: 'I was raped at the age of seven by a guy who was 17. Obviously I didn't have the 'courage to say no'. 'The hierarchy between good and bad victims and the blaming reinforce VSS (Violences Sexistes et Sexuelles or 'Sexist and Sexual Violence'),' the X user continued. Another said: 'Personally, I said no, kindly, more firmly, jokingly, crying, getting angry, every day, for almost six months. So, I don't think I give a damn about Léa Salamé's mediocre opinion.' Léa's comments were also criticized by Elodie Jouneau, a well-regarded historian and feminist, as well as Emmanuelle Dancourt, a journalist and the president of France's #MeTooMedia, and Sarah Legrain, a politician and member of France's left-wing party LFI, HuffPost France reported. 'No, Léa Salamé, there aren't good victims who have the courage to say no and bad ones who 'let it happen'', Legrain wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'There's only one culprit: the aggressor, period.' Despite their status as a 'power couple', Raphael - a Member of European Parliament - and Lea are both notoriously private about their relationship. Speaking to ELLE magazine's French edition last year, Raphael remarked that the only 'publlic photo of us was taken in Cannes in 2017' as he revealed he admires 'politicians of the past' who have managed to keep their personal lives out of the spotlight. Despite their overlapping career paths, the father-of-two said they try their best to 'compartmentalise'. 'She has a great career, and the moment we cross those boundaries, it would jeopardise our trajectories,' Raphael, who is eyeing the French presidency, added. 'Not exposing ourselves and respecting each other's space is what makes our relationship strong. These are two destinies, not a fusion.' However, these destinies will become inextricably wound up in each other should Raphael, the leader of France's Socialist Party, triumph in the 2027 French presidential elections. As the country's Premiere Dame, Lea might find questions of impartiality within the context of her journalism career impossible to side-step.
Telegraph
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Why France's top power couple is making political waves
They are arguably France's top power couple. Lea Salamé, 45, the co-host of the country's top morning radio news show for 11 years, has just been picked to anchor the evening TV news on state-run France 2 – the equivalent of BBC News at Ten. Her partner Raphael Glucksmann, a centre-Left heavyweight, also 45, is limbering up to be a presidential contender. On Monday, he presented his 'vision for France', a 42-point plan to 'regenerate democracy 'and 'de-monarchise' the country when Emmanuel Macron's second, and final, term comes to an end in 2027. The high-profile pair has shone a fresh spotlight on the (some would say cosy) relationship between French politicians and political journalists, which has given rise to a string of romances over the years and continues to raise eyebrows over potential conflicts of interest. The sudden focus on their relationship comes as the race to succeed Mr Macron – whose presidency is increasingly rudderless domestically – is heating up, with several potential presidential candidates showing their colours in recent days. Mr Glucksmann, an MEP and darling of bourgeois bohemian Left-wing moderates and Greens, emerged as a possible national leader last June after a strong showing in the European Parliament elections. His Socialist-backed Place Publique came third, almost overtaking Mr Macron's Renaissance party. Jordan Bardella's hard-Right National Rally finished way out in front. The staunch European federalist and Russia critic has since urged the French Left to jettison ties with Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the radical Left-wing firebrand, and return to its moderate, social democratic roots. The ambitious power duo's sudden surge in media prominence has sparked questions over whether they can both keep their jobs in the coming months. Aymeric Caron, an MP allied with Mr Mélenchon's France Unbowed party, said that while he respected Ms Salamé as a journalist, 'her partner is a politician who wants to play a leading role, yet the [evening] news offers us an interpretation of events and society with a hierarchy of information and political interviews. I wonder how this mix will work in terms of public service.' Antoine Chuzeville, a French national union of journalists (SNJ) rep at France Télévisions, a state broadcaster, added: 'If [Me Glucksmann] finds himself in a major controversy in early September, it will be very complicated for her.' However, he told Gala magazine the French were now used to such situations, pointing to the so-called 'Anne Sinclair precedent'. Ms Sinclair was France's best-known female political chat show host when she became romantically attached to former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 1988. She withdrew from the 7/7 show in 1997 when he took up his finance ministry post to avoid a conflict of interest. DSK, as he was known, later saw his presidential ambitions scuppered when he was arrested in New York in 2011 on sexual abuse charges of a hotel maid, charges that were later dropped. Quizzed on Monday, Mr Glucksmann promised: 'The issue will be decided in a completely transparent manner that will avoid any conflict of interest. She is she, and I am me. It's 2025, and I couldn't imagine discussing with her whether she should or shouldn't do something so important for her career because we are involved in a political process. 'So, things are out in the open, transparent, very clear.' Ms Salamé said she could withdraw from her job if Mr Glucksmann officially threw down the presidential gauntlet, but that the French were now mature enough to accept they both had high-flying jobs they could keep separate: 'Times have changed, and the French, including politicians, are much more feminist than one might think.' Media interest in the couple came as the 'pre-campaign' for the French presidency is starting to gather pace despite two years remaining in Mr Macron's second five-year term. The centrist French president lost his absolute majority in disastrous snap legislative elections last June that neutered his domestic powers. Not only that but the results left a deeply divided parliament and since then a string of prime ministers have been unable to make headway amid the constant threat of no-confidence motions. After a year in limbo, Mr Macron could theoretically now call fresh elections. Alain Duhamel, one of France's highest-profile political analysts, told The Telegraph: 'There's uncertainty about how long the government will last, and since Macron is regaining his power of dissolution, there's a certain amount of uncertainty about what might happen in the next, let's say four or five months. 'And from this point of view, some people are saying, now's the time to make a move before the political scene changes again, so let's make a mark.' Against this backdrop, Mr Glucksmann is the second potential candidate to test the waters this week. Dominique de Villepin, Jacques Chirac's swashbuckling foreign minister who famously said 'non' to the US-led war in Iraq war at the UN in 2003, launched his own Humanist France party and released a book – de rigueur for French presidential hopefuls – called The Power To Say No. Nouvel Obs, a French news magazine, said the title was 'misleading' as it really meant ''yes' to a presidential candidacy in 2027'. The 71-year-old Napoleon fan, who has never held elected office and harks from the centre-Right, has launched a phoenix-style comeback largely sparked by the Israel-Gaza conflict. His defence of the Palestinian cause and De Gaulle-style pro-Arab stance has seen him become an unlikely hero of the radical Left. He was recently mobbed at the Fete de l'Huma, an annual Communist bash organised by L'Humanité, a far-Left newspaper. His central tenet is to unite the French in the defence of 'social justice and republican order'. Mr Villepin argues that France needs an impartial and experienced statesman in a world 'entering the age of the new despots' who believe 'freedom is a luxury that today's world can no longer afford'. His panache and diplomatic credentials have seen him surprisingly crowned France's most popular political figure for the second straight month. However, in terms of voter intentions, he is languishing at the 2.5-5 per cent mark. 'De Villepin has alienated all Right-wing voters, and those on the Left like him but will never vote for him,' a senior member of the conservative Republicans party told Valeurs Actuelles. 'For the moment, he only talks about international issues. The day he ventures into economic issues, the honeymoon will quickly come to an end.' Further Left, Mr Mélenchon is expected to run for a fourth time. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, the ex-Trotskyist, who came third in 2022, said he was ready, adding: 'If it's me, it's me, if it's someone else, it's someone else, but we'll take the decision that makes us the most effective electorally.' On the Right, a raft of other potential candidates are jostling for position, notably the interior minister Bruno Retailleau and Gérald Darmanin, the justice minister, while Gabriel Attal, the ex-Macron prime minister, hopes to replace his former boss. Meanwhile, the biggest potential presidential hitters continue to plough their furrow, albeit with a string of handicaps. Marine Le Pen still hopes to run but is stymied by an electoral ban over a recent corruption conviction that cannot be overturned until next year. Polls suggest the hard-Right leader would come way out in front in round one of presidential elections, as would Mr Bardella, her 29-year-old lieutenant. Amid reported tensions between the two, this week Ms Le Pen conceded: 'I have accepted the possibility that I may be unable to run. Jordan has accepted the possibility that he may have to take up the torch. Until then, I will continue to fight.' Currently, the chief rival to Ms Le Pen and Mr Bardella is Edouard Philippe, Mr Macron's popular ex-prime minister, who announced his presidential intentions in 2020. Like Mr Villepin, the centre-Right mayor of Le Havre also released a book this month. Called The Price of Our Lies, it is similarly alarmist about France's decline and offers pledges to fight populism and to enact labour and pension reforms. But Mr Philippe this week faced a legal complaint from a civil servant over alleged bullying, favouritism and illegal influence peddling. He dismissed the complaint as a 'sad vendetta' by 'a civil servant whose contract was not renewed'. Mr Duhamel said he did not think the complaint would torpedo his ambitions. 'But I don't think Philippe is active and visible enough at the moment. That's apparently his strategy, but I don't think it's the best one,' he said, pointing out that he is being caught up by Mr Retailleau, the interior minister, in the polls. With two years to go before the presidential elections and no national mandate bar his mayoral post, 'his problem is staying power,' added Christelle Craplet in Le Soir, a political scientist.
Associated Press
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
The European Parliament says China has lifted sanctions it imposed on 5 EU lawmakers in 2021
BRUSSELS (AP) — China has lifted sanctions it imposed on five European Union lawmakers in retaliation against the bloc's defense of Uyghur Muslims in the far western Xinjiang region, the EU parliament said on Wednesday. Beijing imposed a series of measures in March 2021 after the EU, Britain, Canada and the United States launched coordinated sanctions against officials in China over human rights abuses against Uyhgurs in Xinjiang. Five EU lawmakers were targeted as part of China's retaliation: Michael Gahler, Raphael Glucksmann, Ilhan Kyuchyuk and Miriam Lexmann, as well as Reinhard Butikofer, who is no longer a member of the parliament. They were banned from entering Chinese territory and the move led the parliament to halt all official dialogue with China and hold up an investment deal that EU lawmakers had been due to endorse. The sanctions lifting was negotiated by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. It comes amid an easing of tensions between the EU and China since U.S. President Donald Trump hiked tariffs against them on April 2. 'Our relationship with China remains complex and multi-faceted. The best way to approach it is through engagement and dialogue,' Metsola said in a statement after informing senior lawmakers of the breakthrough. But the senior lawmakers insisted that Beijing's move 'does not mean the European Parliament will overlook persistent challenges in EU-China relations,' and they vowed that the assembly will 'remain a strong defender' of human rights. The Uyghurs are a Turkic, majority Muslim ethnicity native to Xinjiang. After decades of conflict over suppression of their cultural identity, Beijing launched a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs that some Western governments deem a genocide.
Egypt Independent
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
French politician suggests US should give back Statue of Liberty for taking ‘the side of the tyrants'
CNN — A French politician has called on the US to give the Statue of Liberty back after suggesting that some Americans 'have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants.' Raphael Glucksmann, a member of the European Parliament who represents the small left-wing party Place Publique, made the comments at a rally on Sunday. 'Give us back the Statue of Liberty,' said Glucksmann. 'It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her.' The Statue of Liberty as it is seen today in New York City. Pamela Smith/AP The statue was a gift of friendship to America from France. Inaugurated in 1886, it represents Libertas, the Roman liberty goddess, bearing a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left hand with the date of the US Declaration of Independence. Broken shackles lie underneath the statue's drapery, to symbolize the end of all types of servitude and oppression. On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fired back at Glucksmann. 'My advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it's only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now, so they should be very grateful to our great country,' she said. A photo showing the left hand of the Statue of Liberty under then responded in a series of posts on X and Instagram. He emphasized that his gratitude to the US 'heroes' that fought against the Nazis in WWII is 'eternal,' before making a contrast with US President Donald Trump's recent attempts to negotiate a settlement between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Trump's public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'The America of these heroes fought against tyrants, it did not flatter them. It was the enemy of fascism, not the friend of Putin. It helped the resistance and didn't attack Zelensky,' he wrote. 'It is precisely because I am petrified by Trumps (sic) betrayal that I said yesterday in a rally that we could symbolically take back the Statue of Liberty if your government despised everything it symbolizes in your eyes, ours, and those of the world,' said Glucksmann. 'No one, of course, will come and steal the Statue of Liberty. The statue is yours. But what it embodies belongs to everyone,' he said. 'And if the free world no longer interests your government, then we will take up the torch, here in Europe.' Glucksmann is co-president of the Place Publique party, which currently holds three seats in the European Parliament, as well as one in the French parliament and another in the country's senate. Despite his party's small size, Glucksmann has received an increasing amount of attention in the French media, including an in-depth interview in political magazine Le Nouvel Obs published March 5, in which he underlined the importance that European powers step up their defense spending amid a reorienting of US policy priorities. It has also been rumored that Glucksmann is planning to run for president in elections scheduled for early 2027.
Local France
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Local France
Americans in France: Consulate closures, Lady Liberty and US-France emigration
Welcome to The Local's "Americans in France" newsletter for members, featuring all the news and practical information you need as an American resident, visitor or second-home owner in France. You can sign up to receive it directly to your inbox before we publish it online via the link below. Dear Americans in France, Relations between Europe and the United States are tense , to say the least. In France, politicians have become bolder in their critiques of the US government. Last week, a French senator gave a searing speech , which ended up going viral, where he compared Washington to "Nero's court, with an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers and a buffoon on ketamine in charge of purging the civil service." Another French MP is asking for the Statue of Liberty back . Centre-left politician Raphael Glucksmann said: "We're going to say to the Americans who have chosen to side with the tyrants, to the Americans who fired researchers for demanding scientific freedom: 'Give us back the Statue of Liberty'". Advertisement France does already have at least a dozen Statues of Liberty already, though I don't think this is what Glucksmann was getting at. More seriously, the French government has expressed an interest in coming to the rescue of researchers who have lost funding in the US, and we've put together a guide geared toward American researchers interested in moving to France. As an American in France, I've been asked more questions about my political opinions in the last month (sometimes by perfect strangers) than in the entirety of my almost six years in France. I understand the curiosity, but these conversations can be quite tedious. I've found that turning the question around and asking the inquirer their thoughts can alleviate some of the pressure. It's not just the tedious conversations, Americans in France are still impacted by US policy, despite living abroad. One clear example of this is the (as yet unconfirmed) plan to shrink the State Department and shut down several US consulates around the world - including four that are located in France. Americans in Strasbourg decided to protest the possible closure of the consulate in eastern France, which has stood since 1866. We also reached out to Americans in France to hear about how the planned consulate closures would affect them. And current events have played a role in pushing more Americans to France permanently. According to preliminary immigration data for 2024, 13,000 first-time cartes de séjour were awarded to Americans - an increase of 5.3 percent from 2023 (12,341 first-time cards awarded). We also asked readers who recently moved to France to explain their motivations, and almost half of respondents mentioned President Donald Trump and politics in some capacity. Advertisement Usually, that was not the only reason - other factors included being close to retirement age, seeking a better quality of life and looking to be near friends and family. We also asked readers about some of the challenges they experienced when moving to France - people mentioned struggles with bureaucracy, such as dealing with paperwork and préfecture appointments to renew residency cards, opening bank accounts , finding a doctor , locating housing, and navigating taxes. We always offer the opportunity - via our ongoing survey - to give your tips to other Americans in France and to let us know if you have any questions you need answered. One reader, Louise Burnham, recommends other Americans "Get to know French people! "Don't just associate with other expats. There are many associations or English-speaking groups that can help you meet French people, even if you don't speak French." If making friends with locals sounds daunting, here's how to start off with some basic small-talk. Meanwhile, another reader asked us about the "Legal rules for water damage when renting/owning". We've got a thorough guide on damage and disasters, plus how to make a French home insurance claim (hopefully you don't have to!). Thanks for reading, and as always, you can reach me at
