Macron's office initially denies authenticity of video showing French president's manhandling by his geriatric wife



Video went viral early Monday appearing to show 72-year-old Brigitte Macron manhandling her former student and now husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, just before they deplaned in Hanoi, Vietnam. The president's office initially denied the video's authenticity.

The footage has not only prompted an evolving explanation from the French president but also debate online both over what qualifies as abuse and over the nature of the Macrons' controversial relationship.

In the video, captured by the Associated Press, the 47-year-old president can be seen in the open doorway of the landed plane speaking to his wife. Mrs. Macron seemingly throws her hands into the president's face, impressing upon him a momentary look of shock. Realizing he is in full view of the public below, Mr. Macron smiles, steadies himself, and waves.

After getting his bearings, Mr. Macron turns to exit the plane, offering his elderly wife his arm. She elects instead to rely on the railing, then descends the stairs beside her husband.

'It was a moment of togetherness.'

Macron's office initially denied the authenticity of the images, but when it became clear that denial was a losing strategy, Mr. Macron told reporters that the altercation was all in fun, reported Le Monde.

"My wife and I were squabbling, we were rather joking, and I was taken by surprise,," said Mr. Macron, adding that the physicality was overblown and it has now "become a kind of planetary catastrophe, and some are even coming up with theories."

He suggested further that this was the latest of a number of videos that have been misinterpreted online.

"For three weeks ... there are people who have watched videos and think I shared a bag of cocaine, that I had a fight with the Turkish president, and that now I'm having a domestic dispute with my wife," said Macron. "None of these are true."

RELATED: Florida teacher accused of 'disturbing' sexual misconduct against student — including in classroom just hours before arrest

Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

One of the videos to which Mr. Macron was likely referring showed him tucking away a white object while seated next to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz while en route to Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 9. Critics concluded that the white object was a bag of cocaine. French officials suggested it was just a crumpled tissue.

Macron's office said of the incident on the plane in a statement obtained by CNN, "It was a moment when the president and his wife were unwinding one last time before the trip began, playfully teasing each other. It was a moment of togetherness."

'He preferred to spend his time talking with the teachers.'

Even though Mr. Macron and his office ultimately confirmed that the footage was genuine, CNN still insinuated it was being misinterpreted for the purposes of "disinformation."

Some critics online discussed whether the incident was indicative of a toxic or abusive relationship.

Normalcy advocate Robby Starbuck, for instance, suggested that "if you're in a relationship where someone puts hands on you, LEAVE. It's not normal and there's no excuse for it. People who love and respect you don't hit you."

Other critics suggested the incident might be just the latest insight into a relationship that started in 1993 when then-Brigitte Auziere, a 39-year-old high school teacher, fell for a 15-year-old boy who was a classmate of her daughter Laurence. Auziere supervised the drama club the boy was a member of.

Mr. Macron's former sports teacher told Bloomberg, "At 15, Macron had the maturity of a 25-year-old," adding, "He preferred to spend his time talking with the teachers rather than his classmates."

Mrs. Macron's family discovered her affair with the minor in 1994, prompting disgust and fury.

The age of consent in France is 15.

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Klaus Schwab stepping down as World Economic Forum chair after investigation, collapse of globalist dream



Klaus Schwab's days as chairman are numbered at the World Economic Forum, the technocratic globalist organization he founded in 1971 that hosts an annual conference of supposed elites in Davos, Switzerland.

Schwab told the WEF's board of trustees and staff in a letter on Tuesday seen by the Financial Times that he was beginning a year-long process of stepping down, having already stepped down as the organization's executive chairman last May.

The shake-up in Davos comes between the American-led unrealization of Schwab's proposed "great reset" of capitalism and in the wake of a probe into allegations of discrimination at the WEF.

Toxic workplace

Days after his previous title-drop, the Wall Street Journal published a damning report claiming — on the basis of internal complaints, email exchanges, and interviews with current and past WEF employees — that "under Schwab's decades-long oversight, the forum has allowed to fester an atmosphere hostile to women and black people in its own workplace."

The report noted that at least six female employees were allegedly "pushed out or otherwise saw their careers suffer" when pregnant or coming back from maternity leave. Other women claimed that senior managers had sexually harassed them.

'That was the most disappointing thing.'

"It was distressing to witness colleagues visibly withdraw from themselves with the onslaught of harassment at the hands of high-level staff, going from social and cheerful to self-isolating, avoiding eye contact, sharing nightmares for years after," said Farid Ben Amor, a former media executive who worked at the WEF before resigning in 2019.

Former staffers who worked closely with Schwab told the Journal that the problems went all the way to the top, alleging that the founder "made suggestive comments to them that made them uncomfortable."

The Journal also indicated that black employees complained about managers using racial slurs as well as about allegedly being passed over for promotions. When one employee filed a lawsuit in New York last year claiming the WEF was "hostile to women and black employees," the WEF settled the lawsuit on undisclosed terms.

Cheryl Martin, head of the Center for Global Industries at the WEF, said, "That was the most disappointing thing, to see the distance between what the Forum aspires to and what happens behind the scenes."

The WEF, which routinely lectures the world about racism, the supposed "gender gap," sexism, climate change, and other perceived moral failings, characterized the Journal's report as "inaccurate," stating, "We are an organization that upholds the highest standards of governance, while working to address the most pressing challenges of our time with our high-performance teams, our diverse and global outlook, and an environment that values innovation, inclusion, and well-being."

Tom Clare, legal counsel for the WEF, suggested that the report painting the WEF as a degenerate organization led by hypocrites was both defamatory and illustrative of the Journal's "steady decline."

Toothless investigation

In the wake of the Journal's indications that those keen to control the world were unable to control themselves, the WEF had the law firm Covington and Burling — whose members recently had their security clearances suspended by President Donald Trump — investigate the claims of workplace discrimination and harassment, reported the Financial Times.

The American firm, which conducted its review in conjunction with the Swiss firm Homburger, indicated in a summary of its assessment that it "did not find the forum had committed any legal violations" and "did not substantiate" the misconduct allegations against Schwab.

'Now after the turmoil of the last months, is to recover our sense of mission.'

While the external investigators were unable or unwilling to find proof of guilt, Børge Brende, president and CEO of the WEF, indicated that there was nevertheless an internal desire to make some minor changes.

Brende reportedly noted in an email that the board committee overseeing the law firms' investigation identified "leadership and management issues ... that do not meet our established standards." In addition to affirming the organization's alleged "commitment to a workplace where all employees feel valued and respected," the leadership promised additional training for managers.

Great reset

Schwab is apparently convinced that the WEF has yet to recover its "sense of mission," saying as much in his April 1 letter to trustee board members, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva, failed U.S. presidential candidate Al Gore, and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, president of Singapore.

"I am deeply convinced that in today's special context the forum is more important and relevant than ever before," wrote Schwab. "It is also financially very well equipped thanks to successful financial management since its beginning. What is essential now after the turmoil of the last months, is to recover our sense of mission."

The WEF told the Financial Times that Schwab's departure should be completed by January 2027.

Schwab reportedly suggested it was personally significant that he made his announcement on April 1, as it marked the 55th anniversary of the day he began working on the concept of a "global village" — a term coined several years earlier by Canadian intellectual Marshall McLuhan.

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This Truthsgiving, I'm thankful for European settlement



Cranks come out of the woodwork ahead of every holiday to tell the masses they're celebrating the wrong thing or wrong to celebrate anything at all. Cynical liberal publications dutifully spin off the cranks' latest insights, which are inevitably just old envies and prejudices repackaged for new audiences.

We're told Christopher Columbus is genocidal; the Fourth of July is a celebration fit only for jingos, sexists, and racists; Christmas is environmentally ruinous; and Father's and Mother's Days are hurtfully exclusionary to the reality-averse. Thanksgiving enjoys no exemption.

In its ritual exhibition of late-November ingratitude, the Nation ran a two-stage article by failed Democratic congressional candidate Chase Iron Eyes and Sioux chef Sean Sherman explaining why Americans should either "decolonize" Thanksgiving or replace it with "Truthsgiving."

It is critical to decolonize the day, Sherman suggested, because Thanksgiving's roots are "intertwined with colonial aggression." His preferred decolonized substitute apparently has blessed roots that managed to grow for millennia without absorbing blood from the intertribal wars, slavery, and human sacrifice the Americas were home to prior to European settlement.

According to Sherman, decolonization "means centering the Indigenous perspective and challenging the colonial narratives around the holiday (and every other day on the calendar)." It also apparently means "resisting the dominance of colonial influences."

A decolonized Thanksgiving is apparently one where we racialize our gratitude, resist the urge to give thanks for the myriad gifts handed down to us from settlers from Britain and Europe, and adopt a "clearer lens" to see that anything capable of inspiring pride in post-17th-century America isn't worth celebrating.

Iron Eyes underscored in his argument for canceling Thanksgiving that we can be thankful so long as we're thankful to the right people. "Give thanks to the Native nations who created the world that we inherit today," he wrote.

Iron Eyes' talk of inheritance and Sherman's call for selective remembrance prompted me to think about the world we actually inherit this Truthsgiving and those to whom we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude but are now asked to discount.

More than for property rights, the free market, and the wheel, this Truthsgiving I'd like to express my gratitude to the decentered settlers for their gift of the written word and a functional alphabet, which enable cranks to air their grievances but also preserve Indian languages and traditions for the benefit of future generations.

I am thankful for the settlers' science — the European origin of which the late sociologist Rodney Stark noted was the result of Abrahamic peoples' belief in a rational God whose creation was likewise rational and therefore replete with discernible truth — which has extended Indian and European lives alike and provided us with dominion over a wilderness once worshipped.

I am thankful for the salvific faith settlers brought over to the New World, which not only affirms human beings' inviolable dignity, the eternal love of God, and the promise of life after death but has informed the culture, customs, and ethic that have helped make America the envy of the world.

I am thankful for the imported rule of law, which spares us all from the tyranny of chieftains and the impulses of the mad mob.

I am also thankful for a society prototyped overseas that is so accommodating and tolerant as to put up, year after year, with blood libels and putdowns from its many beneficiaries.

Iron Eyes concluded his argument with, "Let's tell a different story by dropping the lie of Thanksgiving and begin a Truthsgiving."

Instead, let's drop the lie that European settlement wasn't, at least in the long run, an absolute blessing and acknowledge that the imperfect cast of characters responsible for the society we've inherited don't need our condemnation or praise but rather our understanding and thanks.

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Italian prime minister says illegal aliens from Africa 'threaten the future of Europe' as migrants begin blocking roads on beleaguered Mediterranean island



Thousands of illegal aliens have flooded the Sicilian island of Lampedusa over the past several days, prompting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to threaten "extraordinary measures" to curb future maritime attacks on her nation's sovereignty. Meloni has also called on other European nations to both help "stop departures" from Africa and eject those who have been turned down for asylum.

What's the background?

Lampedusa is an island that lies between Malta and North Africa with a native population of only 6,000 full-time residents and a migrant center designed to accommodate no more than 400 people. Inside a three-day period last week, the island was overwhelmed by well over 8,500 illegal aliens, reported the Guardian.

Sky News suggested the number of illegal newcomers had reached over 11,000 as of Sunday. Many of the migrants appear to be military-age men.

The migrants departed North Africa by way of the Sunni Muslim nation of Tunisia, then proceeded towards Italy via a flotilla comprising over 120 rickety iron boats.

The surge appears to have been the result of a bottleneck in Tunisia's ports caused by rough seas, which prevented human traffickers from launching at intervals as planned, according to Italian authorities.

Filippo Mannino, the island's mayor, stressed that Lampedusa is in crisis and has reached a tipping point, reported Reuters.

Locals rose up over the weekend in protest of plans to build a tent city on the island.

"We hate to see people suffering and have always been there to pull bodies from the sea or provide food and clothing," said Girgia Pirotta, a resident of the island. "But we can’t live like this anymore. These people deserve respect, and so do we."

It's not just citizens who are vexed by the situation.

Claudine Nsoe, a migrant from Cameroon, complained to the press about the living conditions on the island where she and thousands of others disembarked illegally, calling into question the quality of the food and lack of shelter.

Having not immediately gotten their way — which is to access mainland Europe — multitudes of other unwelcome guests reportedly broke out of the reception area and began blocking roads and issuing demands.

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The United Nations refugee agency indicated Italy and the rest of Europe should cave to the migrants' demands for relocation.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said, "It's imperative to move people off the island because the resources there, the capacity is so limited."

Saltmarsh appeared far less concerned about the impact of the invasion on the native population than about the trauma migrants may be experiencing, reported Reuters.

Meanwhile, Tunisia appears more than happy to continue seeing off the fleets of migrant vessels bound for European shores.

The Guardian noted that the European Union has struck deals with the North African nation in hopes of stemming the tide, going so far as to pledge $1.1 billion in financial aid and to refitting 17 vessels for Tunisian authorities to use in search and rescue operations. However, President Kais Saied has done very little; unsurprising granted his previous indication that Tunisia would not be Europe's border guard.

Off, out, and no more

Meloni visited the island Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, just after thousands of migrants had been ported to Sicily and mainland Italy.

The Italian prime minister made clear illegal aliens "threaten the future of Europe," stressing, "It is an epochal challenge for Europe."

Meloni told the press, "If anyone thinks that this crisis we are facing could be just resolved within Italian borders, it would be a very big mistake, because this problem involves everyone and needs to be tackled by everyone."

"I continue to say that we will never resolve it by talking only about redistribution [of migrants] – the only way to resolve it is to stop departures," added Meloni.

Von der Leyen indicated Sunday that the EU would explore "options to expand existing naval missions in the Mediterranean or to work on new ones."

Additionally, the German politico indicated those not granted asylum would be deported and human traffickers would face a crackdown.

"We will decide who comes to the European Union and under what circumstances, not the smugglers," said von der Leyen. "Irregular migration is a European challenge and it needs a European answer, so we are in this together."

Notwithstanding assurances from the head of the European Commission, France and Germany have reportedly vowed not to take migrants who touch down in Italy, according to ABC News.

According to Italy's Interior Ministry, roughly 126,000 illegal aliens have landed in Italy this year, nearly double what the Mediterranean nation saw last year. Put in perspective, every month so far this year, tens of thousands more illegal aliens have stolen into the United States.

Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said, "The boat landings at Lampedusa are the symbol of a Europe that's not there, that's so distracted it leaves countries to their own" devices, reported ABC News.

Former British politician and Brexiteer Nigel Farage said, "The invasion of Lampedusa in the last few days spells catastrophe for the EU and for us. ... These young men must be sent back, or millions more will come."

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Europeans unwilling to back US in war with China: Poll



The U.S. fought valiantly to liberate Europe from totalitarian powers in the 20th century and footed the bill for its latest fight with Russia.

Now, confronted with the threat of an increasingly aggressive and genocidal threat in the east, it appears America may not be able to rely on its continental beneficiaries to return the favor.

The European Council on Foreign Relations just published the results of an extensive poll of over 6,000 people across 11 European Union member nations — Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden — "to understand how European citizens see their place in the world today."

In the event of a war between the U.S. and China — as might result from a Chinese invasion of the island nation of Taiwan — only a quarter of European respondents, on average, "would like their country, or Europe, to take America’s side."

62% of Europeans surveyed would like to remain neutral, notwithstanding their nations' ongoing infiltration by Chinese communist spies, subversion by illegal Chinese police operations, and economic coercion by Beijing.

The survey also found:

  • On average, 3.3% of European citizens regard China as an ally "that shares our interests and values";
  • 43% recognize China as a "necessary partner ... with which we must strategically cooperate";
  • 7% of both French and German respondents suggested Europe or their countries should support China against the U.S in a war, whereas only 4.7% of Europeans, on average, would want to side with the genocidal communists;
  • Bulgarians, the most anti-American of the bunch, were the most likely to regard China as a "necessary partner" (58%) and tied for most likely to regard China as an ally (8%);
  • Swedes were the most hawkish on China, with 26% calling it an adversary "with which we are in conflict" and 24% calling it a rival "with which we need to compete"; and
  • 35% of Swedes and 31% of Poles would want to support the U.S. in a war with China over Taiwan.

Jana Puglierin and Pawel Zerka, senior policy fellows at the ECFR, indicated the notion of neutrality was naïve, writing, "While remaining neutral in the case of great power confrontation is an appealing idea, a US-China confrontation would have a massive impact on Europe’s trade and economy at a minimum and European countries would certainly not be neutral bystanders. In addition, the US would likely demand loyalty from Europeans, reminding them of America’s pivotal role in ensuring a strong Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."

There appear to be two dominant schools of thought in Europe: de-risking and deference. While both entail some form of continued appeasement of Beijing, the latter appears to involve more mental gymnastics on the part of leaders who routinely pay lip service to the importance of democracy and human rights.

The ECFR indicated that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron exemplify the two varieties of collaborators.

Von der Leyen acknowledged in a March speech that China is ramping up its military posture, its policies of disinformation, and economic and trade coercion, stressing, "These escalatory actions point to a China that is becoming more repressive at home and more assertive abroad."

While recognizing the destabilization and repression China threatens, von der Leyen went on to say, "I believe it is neither viable – nor in Europe's interest – to decouple from China. Our relations are not black or white – and our response cannot be either. This is why we need to focus on de-risk – not de-couple."

De-risking, according to von der Leyen, will require addressing "distortions created by China's state capitalist system," reassessing the terms of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, altogether reducing dependence on China, and limiting economic and national security exposure "in the context of China's explicit fusion of its military and commercial sectors."

Macron, alternatively, makes von der Leyen out to be a hawk with his deferential stance to Beijing.

The ECFR suggested that Macron is willing to prioritize close economic relations, even if that compromises allied nations.

"Macron spoke of reviving the strategic and global partnership with China and deliberately avoided critical remarks on the subject of Taiwan. Like Scholz before him, Macron was accompanied by a business delegation, which concluded numerous agreements in China," reported the ECFR. "Macron’s message to Xi was clear: Paris wants close economic relations with Beijing, even if China does not oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and continues to maintain close relations with the Kremlin."

The New York Times reported that during his China trip in April, Macron reiterated his opposition to the economic decoupling from China favored by the U.S. and his preference for a world where American dominance was minimized or zapped altogether.

According to the ECFR's findings, "European citizens are more on Team Macron than Team von der Leyen. They do not see China as a power that challenges and wants to undermine Europe, and they do not buy into the 'democracy versus autocracy' framework promoted by the Biden administration."

Among the 11 nations where citizens were polled, it appears Germany, Sweden, France, and Denmark are outliers in terms of their citizenry recognizing China as a "rival" or an "adversary."

The rest reckon China to be an "ally" or a "partner."

The Euro-Sino love-in could be disrupted, however, if Beijing officially begins arming Russia.

"On average, 41 per cent would be ready to sanction Beijing in that event, even if that meant seriously damaging Western economies. A minority of 33 per cent, on average, would oppose this," reported the ECFR.

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