Former French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand, who was a high-profile and sometimes controversial figure on France’s cultural scene, died on Thursday at the age of 76, his family announced.
Born in Paris in 1947 to a well-to-do family, Mitterrand was the nephew of President François Mitterrand.
His many activities across half a century included teacher, arthouse cinema owner, cinema and culture commentator, TV presenter, producer and documentary-maker.
He first gained notoriety on France’s cultural scene as the owner of the bohemian arthouse cinema L’Olympic in Paris’ then down-at-heel 14th arrondissement.
After a brief time as a geography and history teacher, he acquired the theater in 1971 at the age of 22 with the help of a loan from the father of one of his former pupils.
It took on a folkloric status for its mixed clientele of locals, cinephiles, neighborhood hoodlums, drag queens and the occasional film star and auteur director of the time.
Born in Paris in 1947 to a well-to-do family, Mitterrand was the nephew of President François Mitterrand.
His many activities across half a century included teacher, arthouse cinema owner, cinema and culture commentator, TV presenter, producer and documentary-maker.
He first gained notoriety on France’s cultural scene as the owner of the bohemian arthouse cinema L’Olympic in Paris’ then down-at-heel 14th arrondissement.
After a brief time as a geography and history teacher, he acquired the theater in 1971 at the age of 22 with the help of a loan from the father of one of his former pupils.
It took on a folkloric status for its mixed clientele of locals, cinephiles, neighborhood hoodlums, drag queens and the occasional film star and auteur director of the time.
- 3/22/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to ElectionLine’s A View From Abroad series, in which we speak with media figures who don’t live in America but keep a close eye on its politics. Every few weeks, these smart observers will provide a unique perspective on what promises to be a fraught and unpredictable campaign for the White House. This week, our interview is with Kéthévane Gorjestani, the foreign affairs correspondent for France 24, the international news network.
Kéthévane Gorjestani spent time as president of the White House Foreign Press Group, meaning she helped spearhead efforts to get more access to Joe Biden. While Trump was at the White House press podium “all the time,” Gorjestani says there was a feeling among the media corps that Biden’s handlers were more reluctant to engage. The France 24 journalist thinks this has been to Biden’s detriment.
Gorjestani argues that the president’s blunders or moments...
Kéthévane Gorjestani spent time as president of the White House Foreign Press Group, meaning she helped spearhead efforts to get more access to Joe Biden. While Trump was at the White House press podium “all the time,” Gorjestani says there was a feeling among the media corps that Biden’s handlers were more reluctant to engage. The France 24 journalist thinks this has been to Biden’s detriment.
Gorjestani argues that the president’s blunders or moments...
- 3/13/2024
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
When Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) addresses the citizens of her unnamed Central European country, she doesn’t sound like a politician. “My loves,” she coos in a plummy, posh accent, further softened by a hint of a lisp. “I bless you all, and I bless our love. Always.” Seven years into her reign, this signoff suggests that Vernham has transcended the role of head of state, or even autocratic strongwoman. The propaganda videos she records from her palace, a luxury hotel turned personal residence, are closer to guided meditations than ideological sermons. The relationship between this ruler and her subjects, Vernham seems to believe, is more intimate and emotional than mere governance.
Before creating “The Regime,” the six-episode HBO series set in Vernham’s impenetrable echo chamber, writer Will Tracy worked on “Succession.” Just as Logan Roy was a composite of various Irl oligarchs, Vernham can’t be traced to any single inspiration.
Before creating “The Regime,” the six-episode HBO series set in Vernham’s impenetrable echo chamber, writer Will Tracy worked on “Succession.” Just as Logan Roy was a composite of various Irl oligarchs, Vernham can’t be traced to any single inspiration.
- 3/3/2024
- by Alison Herman
- Variety Film + TV
Controversial, far-right politician Geert Wilders could be on track to become the Netherlands’ next prime minister following a surprise victory in general elections overnight.
Preliminary figures showed that Wilders’ right-wing Freedom Party (Pvv) has gained 37 seats, putting it ahead of the GreenLeft-Labour party (Gl/Pvda) alliance with 25 seats and the liberal-conservative Freedom and Democracy Party (Vvd) with 25 seats.
The result marks a dramatic change in political fortunes for Wilders, whose Pvv party won just 17 seats in snap elections in 2021, following the collapse of a coalition government led by Mark Rutte.
Wilders’ controversial policies include an extreme clampdown on immigration; a referendum on the Netherlands leaving the European Union, or “Nexit”, and Islamophobic measures including the suppression of Islamic schools, the Koran and mosques, although he cannot put the latter ambition in motion under Dutch laws protecting freedom of religion and expression.
Wilders made it clear in his victory speech that...
Preliminary figures showed that Wilders’ right-wing Freedom Party (Pvv) has gained 37 seats, putting it ahead of the GreenLeft-Labour party (Gl/Pvda) alliance with 25 seats and the liberal-conservative Freedom and Democracy Party (Vvd) with 25 seats.
The result marks a dramatic change in political fortunes for Wilders, whose Pvv party won just 17 seats in snap elections in 2021, following the collapse of a coalition government led by Mark Rutte.
Wilders’ controversial policies include an extreme clampdown on immigration; a referendum on the Netherlands leaving the European Union, or “Nexit”, and Islamophobic measures including the suppression of Islamic schools, the Koran and mosques, although he cannot put the latter ambition in motion under Dutch laws protecting freedom of religion and expression.
Wilders made it clear in his victory speech that...
- 11/23/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with Vivendi response. French lawmakers are proposing new legislation aimed at protecting media independence amid growing concerns over big business interference and politicization in the sector in France.
The cross-party initiative has been prompted by an ongoing strike at Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, or Jdd, in protest at a move to install far-right journalist Geoffroy Lejeune as editor, by parent the Lagardère Group, which is currently in the process of being acquired by Vivendi.
The Jdd journalists have rejected Lejeune’s appointment saying his values are out of whack with those of the newspaper. They are also calling for a guarantee of editorial independence.
The industrial action meant the newspaper did not publish for a fifth consecutive week on Sunday (July 24), the longest period it has been absent from newspaper racks in its 75-history.
Lejeune was previously editor of the far-right magazine Valeurs Actuelles and supporter of...
The cross-party initiative has been prompted by an ongoing strike at Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, or Jdd, in protest at a move to install far-right journalist Geoffroy Lejeune as editor, by parent the Lagardère Group, which is currently in the process of being acquired by Vivendi.
The Jdd journalists have rejected Lejeune’s appointment saying his values are out of whack with those of the newspaper. They are also calling for a guarantee of editorial independence.
The industrial action meant the newspaper did not publish for a fifth consecutive week on Sunday (July 24), the longest period it has been absent from newspaper racks in its 75-history.
Lejeune was previously editor of the far-right magazine Valeurs Actuelles and supporter of...
- 7/24/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Brigitte Bardot was treated by emergency services on Wednesday at her home in Saint-Tropez after she began to experience breathing problems. The French actress’ husband, Bernard d’Ormale, confirmed the news to local outlet Val-Matin.
“It was around 9 a.m. when Brigitte had trouble breathing,” d’Ormale told the outlet, speaking in French. “It was harder than usual, but she didn’t lose consciousness. Let’s call it a moment of respiratory distraction. The firefighters arrived, gave her oxygen to breathe, and stayed for a moment to watch her.”
D’Ormale...
“It was around 9 a.m. when Brigitte had trouble breathing,” d’Ormale told the outlet, speaking in French. “It was harder than usual, but she didn’t lose consciousness. Let’s call it a moment of respiratory distraction. The firefighters arrived, gave her oxygen to breathe, and stayed for a moment to watch her.”
D’Ormale...
- 7/20/2023
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
The growing row around Cannes Palme d’Or winner Justine Triet’s politicized victory speech as she received the coveted award for courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall spilt into the French Parliament on Tuesday.
Triet used her Cannes victory speech on Saturday to decry the unpopular pensions reforms of President Emmanuel Macron’s government as well as what she described as its neo-liberal approach to culture, suggesting it would make it harder for a new generation of filmmakers to emerge and grow as directors.
Her comments provoked a sharp rebuke from Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, who Tweeted she was “flabbergasted” by Triet’s speech, describing it as “unjust”.
“This film would not have seen the light of day without our French cinema finance model, which enables a unique diversity not seen anywhere else in the world,” she wrote.
Related: The Jury Gets It (Mostly) Right In A Terrific Lineup Of Competition Films,...
Triet used her Cannes victory speech on Saturday to decry the unpopular pensions reforms of President Emmanuel Macron’s government as well as what she described as its neo-liberal approach to culture, suggesting it would make it harder for a new generation of filmmakers to emerge and grow as directors.
Her comments provoked a sharp rebuke from Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, who Tweeted she was “flabbergasted” by Triet’s speech, describing it as “unjust”.
“This film would not have seen the light of day without our French cinema finance model, which enables a unique diversity not seen anywhere else in the world,” she wrote.
Related: The Jury Gets It (Mostly) Right In A Terrific Lineup Of Competition Films,...
- 5/30/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Bernard-Henri Lévy on a young girl in Slava Ukraini saying she read Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers and Queen Margot: “She lived in a bunker, a basement, underground. The only thing which kept her connected was a book, literature.”
Last year when I spoke with Bernard-Henri Lévy on The Will To See (Une Autre Idée Du Monde), co-directed with Marc Roussel, he moved up our scheduled time to meet so we could watch the final French presidential debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. When we met last week for a conversation on Slava Ukraini, again co-directed with Marc Roussel (produced by François Margolin with associate producer Emily Hamilton and advisor Gilles Hertzog) it was the afternoon of President Joe Biden’s early morning announcement that he will be running for re-election, and four days before Roy Wood Jr. (executive producer of Cj Hunt’s documentary The Neutral Ground...
Last year when I spoke with Bernard-Henri Lévy on The Will To See (Une Autre Idée Du Monde), co-directed with Marc Roussel, he moved up our scheduled time to meet so we could watch the final French presidential debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. When we met last week for a conversation on Slava Ukraini, again co-directed with Marc Roussel (produced by François Margolin with associate producer Emily Hamilton and advisor Gilles Hertzog) it was the afternoon of President Joe Biden’s early morning announcement that he will be running for re-election, and four days before Roy Wood Jr. (executive producer of Cj Hunt’s documentary The Neutral Ground...
- 5/1/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
On the FBI’s list of documents seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, item 1a is listed solely as “info re: President of France.” For Trump, that has been a subject of intense — and tawdry — interest for years.
Specifically, Trump has bragged to some of his closest associates — both during and after his time in the White House — that he knew illicit details about the love life of French President Emmanuel Macron, two people with knowledge of the matter tell Rolling Stone. And the former president even claimed that...
Specifically, Trump has bragged to some of his closest associates — both during and after his time in the White House — that he knew illicit details about the love life of French President Emmanuel Macron, two people with knowledge of the matter tell Rolling Stone. And the former president even claimed that...
- 8/30/2022
- by Adam Rawnsley and Asawin Suebsaeng
- Rollingstone.com
France’s TF1 Group has posted a positive set of results for the first half of 2022, as Covid-19 pandemic challenges which weighed on turnover in 2020 and 2021 continue to subside.
The results followed news on the Wednesday (July 27) that the France’s competition authority had raised concerned about the group’s plans to merge with the M6 Group.
The group’s six-month report operation suggested the operation remained a key project for the coming months, noting it had spent 6.8m (€6.8m) on related expenses to date.
Talking on the margins of the results announcement, TF1 Studios CEO Gilles Pélisson said both parties remained committed to the plan but were also open to the fact it might not go ahead.
“The dream we shared is not necessarily shared by the competition authority,” he said. “On that basis, before the dream becomes a nightmare, there also needs to be a reality check, around...
The results followed news on the Wednesday (July 27) that the France’s competition authority had raised concerned about the group’s plans to merge with the M6 Group.
The group’s six-month report operation suggested the operation remained a key project for the coming months, noting it had spent 6.8m (€6.8m) on related expenses to date.
Talking on the margins of the results announcement, TF1 Studios CEO Gilles Pélisson said both parties remained committed to the plan but were also open to the fact it might not go ahead.
“The dream we shared is not necessarily shared by the competition authority,” he said. “On that basis, before the dream becomes a nightmare, there also needs to be a reality check, around...
- 7/28/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Boris Johnson’s Thursday morning resignation as U.K. Prime Minister has sent shockwaves through global politics – and “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are optimistic that it could indicate the end of a political era.
“The rise of right-wing populism in the West may soon be limited to the confines of cable news hosts and a dwindling number of dimwitted representatives in Congress,” Brzezinski said, prefacing the program’s deep-dive on Johnson. Then, drawing a through line between Johnson, France’s presidential election (which saw the loss of Marine Le Pen), and a growing unease around former U.S. president Donald Trump on the home front, Scarborough echoed that “it looks like the age of the right-wing populist with Johnson’s departure may be coming to a short, short end.”
Also Read:
Boris Johnson Resigns as UK Prime Minister
“It’s interesting: We keep hearing and we...
“The rise of right-wing populism in the West may soon be limited to the confines of cable news hosts and a dwindling number of dimwitted representatives in Congress,” Brzezinski said, prefacing the program’s deep-dive on Johnson. Then, drawing a through line between Johnson, France’s presidential election (which saw the loss of Marine Le Pen), and a growing unease around former U.S. president Donald Trump on the home front, Scarborough echoed that “it looks like the age of the right-wing populist with Johnson’s departure may be coming to a short, short end.”
Also Read:
Boris Johnson Resigns as UK Prime Minister
“It’s interesting: We keep hearing and we...
- 7/7/2022
- by Benjamin Lindsay
- The Wrap
If the title of Simon Brückner’s new documentary conjures images of Bavarian beer halls or seedy nights at Kit Kat, don’t get your hopes up. There is an ample amount of beer in A German Party, and even the occasional modest beer hall, but the lasting effect of Brückner’s film is far more sobering. A German Party is documentary as political procedural: engrossing, depressingly comic, and never less than concerning, it charts two years in the political ecosystem of the Alternative für Deutschland, a fringe party with a stronghold in the former East that shook the nation in 2017 when it picked up 97 seats in the General election—or roughly 13 of the vote.
Though the task is as tricky as it is counterproductive, Brückner makes efforts to appear objective—his film is impressively non-preachy, even if you feel next to no one on the right will be watching...
Though the task is as tricky as it is counterproductive, Brückner makes efforts to appear objective—his film is impressively non-preachy, even if you feel next to no one on the right will be watching...
- 6/29/2022
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Fifteen years ago, I made my first trip to the Cannes Film Festival and spent two intense weeks consumed by cinema. It was a chaotic experience dominated by exhaustion and attempts to stay awake and consume as many movies as possible. After a dizzying ride through screenings of everything from “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days” to “No Country For Old Men” and “Secret Sunshine,” I had a hard time processing the world outside of dark, crowded rooms. And I couldn’t wait to return.
Back home, my euphoria gave way to frustration and envy. Cannes rolled out the red carpet for auteurs and treated cinema as high art; even in New York, movies felt like a much smaller piece of the cultural equation. What gives? The answer, of course, comes down to money. It helps to have a government with formidable resources invested in the arts, as France does, and...
Back home, my euphoria gave way to frustration and envy. Cannes rolled out the red carpet for auteurs and treated cinema as high art; even in New York, movies felt like a much smaller piece of the cultural equation. What gives? The answer, of course, comes down to money. It helps to have a government with formidable resources invested in the arts, as France does, and...
- 5/28/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The Cannes Film Festival is best-known for its lavish parties and stunning red carpets, but the celebration of cinema has also often been colored by political concerns. This year, promises to be an unusually turbulent one.
After all, filmmakers, studio executives and movie lovers are assembling in the South of France as the specter of war in Ukraine and rising autocracies around the world threaten to overshadow the good times. Indeed, the loudest applause on Cannes’ opening night were reserved for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a special appearance via video link in which he invoked Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” a satire of Nazism, to remind the audience of the powerful role movies can play.
“Hundreds of people die every day,” Zelensky said. “Will cinema stay silent, or will it talk about it? If there is a dictator, if there is a war for freedom, again, it all depends on our unity.
After all, filmmakers, studio executives and movie lovers are assembling in the South of France as the specter of war in Ukraine and rising autocracies around the world threaten to overshadow the good times. Indeed, the loudest applause on Cannes’ opening night were reserved for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a special appearance via video link in which he invoked Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” a satire of Nazism, to remind the audience of the powerful role movies can play.
“Hundreds of people die every day,” Zelensky said. “Will cinema stay silent, or will it talk about it? If there is a dictator, if there is a war for freedom, again, it all depends on our unity.
- 5/18/2022
- by Brent Lang and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
It will still be a few months (or more than a few months) before we get to see the first trailer for “Fast X,” but it’s hard to imagine a better (or at least more indicative) preview of next summer’s most Nos-brained soap opera than Netflix’s “The Takedown,” .
Of course, Louis Leterrier isn’t exactly an unknown quantity; between the likes of “The Transporter,” “Clash of the Titans,” and “Now You See Me,” the Luc Besson protégé has built a singular résumé of flashy, semi-functional, thoroughly mediocre studio movies that could’ve been made by anyone else. In that sense, his latest opus is vintage Leterrier, if also better-paced and more charismatic than any of his previous features have been.
Frothier than the average Netflix programmer but no less forgettable, “The Takedown” epitomizes why Leterrier might be able to stop “Fast X” from speeding off a cliff...
Of course, Louis Leterrier isn’t exactly an unknown quantity; between the likes of “The Transporter,” “Clash of the Titans,” and “Now You See Me,” the Luc Besson protégé has built a singular résumé of flashy, semi-functional, thoroughly mediocre studio movies that could’ve been made by anyone else. In that sense, his latest opus is vintage Leterrier, if also better-paced and more charismatic than any of his previous features have been.
Frothier than the average Netflix programmer but no less forgettable, “The Takedown” epitomizes why Leterrier might be able to stop “Fast X” from speeding off a cliff...
- 5/6/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Bernard-Henri Lévy just days before he is elected President of Ukraine Photo: Yann Revol, courtesy Cohen Media Group
Bernard-Henri Lévy on Wednesday, April 20 moved up our scheduled time to meet from 3:00pm (New York time) to 2:30pm so he could watch from the start the final French presidential debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. The election is today, Sunday April 24.
In The Will To See (Une Autre Idée Du Monde), co-directed with Marc Roussel, produced by Kristina Larsen, and executive produced by Emily Hamilton, Bernard-Henri Lévy takes us up close to many of the never-ending crises around the world.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: “I was in Ukraine a few days ago. Before that I was in the area of Odessa, Mykolaiv, I continue to go.” Photo: Cohen Media Group
This must-see documentary, shot by Olivier Jacquin and Roussel is dedicated to Paris Match Managing...
Bernard-Henri Lévy on Wednesday, April 20 moved up our scheduled time to meet from 3:00pm (New York time) to 2:30pm so he could watch from the start the final French presidential debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. The election is today, Sunday April 24.
In The Will To See (Une Autre Idée Du Monde), co-directed with Marc Roussel, produced by Kristina Larsen, and executive produced by Emily Hamilton, Bernard-Henri Lévy takes us up close to many of the never-ending crises around the world.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: “I was in Ukraine a few days ago. Before that I was in the area of Odessa, Mykolaiv, I continue to go.” Photo: Cohen Media Group
This must-see documentary, shot by Olivier Jacquin and Roussel is dedicated to Paris Match Managing...
- 4/24/2022
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Update, writethru: With an estimated 58.2 of the vote, Emmanuel Macron has been reelected as President of France, defeating extreme right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen who amassed 41.8. Macron now becomes the eighth French incumbent to win a second term.
Coming into today’s final round of the election, independent centrist Macron was leading in the polls, but throughout her campaign, Le Pen had gained momentum compared to the first time the two faced off in 2017. Today marked the second runoff between candidates from parties other than the traditional left and right.
Voter abstention today was estimated at 28.7, according to media reports. This is higher than in 2017, and is also more than the first round of voting two weeks ago. However, it is not a record breaker.
Macron’s camp this evening was parked on the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower where Daft Punk’s “One More Time...
Coming into today’s final round of the election, independent centrist Macron was leading in the polls, but throughout her campaign, Le Pen had gained momentum compared to the first time the two faced off in 2017. Today marked the second runoff between candidates from parties other than the traditional left and right.
Voter abstention today was estimated at 28.7, according to media reports. This is higher than in 2017, and is also more than the first round of voting two weeks ago. However, it is not a record breaker.
Macron’s camp this evening was parked on the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower where Daft Punk’s “One More Time...
- 4/24/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
A nearly three-hour televised debate between French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen on Wednesday night scored the lowest ever ratings for such a match-up. With 15.6 million total viewers, the heated exchange between the incumbent and the far right extremist was aired live on both TF1 and France 2. The market share was, however, a solid 61.
The low ratings follows low voter turnout in the first round of France’s 2022 presidential election, and ensuing protests decrying the options presented.
French media is largely giving the win to Macron in Wednesday’s debate, and a Bfmtv poll found 59 of viewers agree. Overall, Macron continues to lead in the polls, with a post-debate survey projecting he will take 56 of the final vote on Sunday (April 24).
Le Pen acquitted herself somewhat better than when the two last met up in 2017 in what has been called a fiasco. Le Monde today wrote of the debate last night,...
The low ratings follows low voter turnout in the first round of France’s 2022 presidential election, and ensuing protests decrying the options presented.
French media is largely giving the win to Macron in Wednesday’s debate, and a Bfmtv poll found 59 of viewers agree. Overall, Macron continues to lead in the polls, with a post-debate survey projecting he will take 56 of the final vote on Sunday (April 24).
Le Pen acquitted herself somewhat better than when the two last met up in 2017 in what has been called a fiasco. Le Monde today wrote of the debate last night,...
- 4/21/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
On April 10, France went to the polls in the first round of voting for the 2022 presidential election. The results pit incumbent Emmanuel Macron versus far right leader Marine Le Pen with the determining second round vote to be held on April 24. In the wake of the first round, some 400 artists have lent their names to an op-ed published in Le Monde urging the electorate to put its voice behind Macron.
Signatories including Juliette Binoche, Jane Birkin, Guillaume Canet, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Mélanie Thierry wrote in the opinion piece, “Without illusions, without hesitation and without trembling, we will vote for Emmanuel Macron.” Of Le Pen, they said, “We cannot imagine, at the head of France, a candidate whose program remains that of xenophobia and withdrawal, a candidate who has made an alliance with totalitarian and warmongering powers. We cannot imagine what this terrible sign would mean for Europe and for the world.
Signatories including Juliette Binoche, Jane Birkin, Guillaume Canet, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Mélanie Thierry wrote in the opinion piece, “Without illusions, without hesitation and without trembling, we will vote for Emmanuel Macron.” Of Le Pen, they said, “We cannot imagine, at the head of France, a candidate whose program remains that of xenophobia and withdrawal, a candidate who has made an alliance with totalitarian and warmongering powers. We cannot imagine what this terrible sign would mean for Europe and for the world.
- 4/18/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The festival, running May 17-28, marks its 75th edition against the backdrop of two-year pandemic and war in Ukraine.
Cannes Film Festival delegate general Thierry Frémaux, accompanied by president Pierre Lescure as he embarks on his swansong edition, took to the stage of the Normandie Ugc cinema in Paris on Thursday (April 14) to unveil the Official Selection for the 75th edition.
Frémaux announced 47 titles and promised a handful of additions in the coming days, although he made it clear his aim is to rein in the line-up to under 60 films, after the bumper 83-title Official Selection of last year’s special July edition.
Cannes Film Festival delegate general Thierry Frémaux, accompanied by president Pierre Lescure as he embarks on his swansong edition, took to the stage of the Normandie Ugc cinema in Paris on Thursday (April 14) to unveil the Official Selection for the 75th edition.
Frémaux announced 47 titles and promised a handful of additions in the coming days, although he made it clear his aim is to rein in the line-up to under 60 films, after the bumper 83-title Official Selection of last year’s special July edition.
- 4/15/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
In a repeat of 2017, France’s 2022 presidential election is now down to the same two candidates: the incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far right leader Marine Le Pen. In first round voting which took place on Sunday, centrist Macron emerged with 27.6 of the votes while Le Pen managed 23.4. This is a bigger showing for Le Pen and her National Rally party (formerly National Front) than five years ago. The determining second round vote will be held on April 24.
While the war in Ukraine continues to dominate most headlines, the French media has naturally been focused on the election throughout yesterday and today. Newspapers in far-flung corners of the globe are not giving as many column inches as in 2017 — which saw a historic first round in which France’s major political parties did not advance. However, the UK and our European neighbors are following closely as the National Rally’s brand of...
While the war in Ukraine continues to dominate most headlines, the French media has naturally been focused on the election throughout yesterday and today. Newspapers in far-flung corners of the globe are not giving as many column inches as in 2017 — which saw a historic first round in which France’s major political parties did not advance. However, the UK and our European neighbors are following closely as the National Rally’s brand of...
- 4/11/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Eric Zemmour, the French far-right pundit and TV journalist who has been called “France’s Trump,” sparked a scandal in French media earlier this week when he announced his presidential bid with a video that incited nationalist fervor and included unauthorized footage from classic movies, TV shows, newscasts and soccer games.
The controversy echoes musicians such as Neil Young and the Rolling Stones threatening lawsuits over Donald Trump’s campaign using their songs..
French production powerhouse Gaumont and the producers of the popular primetime show “Quotidien” are among those who have threatened to sue Zemmour over the use of their materials in the video.
The 10-minute clip — the first of its kind posted by a French presidential candidate to social media — is set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and shows Zemmour sitting at a desk with imagery reminiscent of French General Charles de Gaulle’s 1940 filmed appeal to resist the Nazi occupation.
The controversy echoes musicians such as Neil Young and the Rolling Stones threatening lawsuits over Donald Trump’s campaign using their songs..
French production powerhouse Gaumont and the producers of the popular primetime show “Quotidien” are among those who have threatened to sue Zemmour over the use of their materials in the video.
The 10-minute clip — the first of its kind posted by a French presidential candidate to social media — is set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and shows Zemmour sitting at a desk with imagery reminiscent of French General Charles de Gaulle’s 1940 filmed appeal to resist the Nazi occupation.
- 12/3/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Populist candidate Eric Zemmour’s campaign is under fire over the use of extracts from French film classics.
French film and TV company Gaumont is threatening legal action after extracts of films in its library were used in a video launching far-right politician Eric Zemmour as a candidate in France’s 2022 presidential elections without authorisation.
The 10-minute video, posted on YouTube on Tuesday (November 30), intercuts Zemmour’s candidacy speech with a montage of news footage and extracts from French film and TV shows. These included Gaumont titles Luc Besson’s Joan Of Arc and Henri Verneuil’s A Monkey In Winter...
French film and TV company Gaumont is threatening legal action after extracts of films in its library were used in a video launching far-right politician Eric Zemmour as a candidate in France’s 2022 presidential elections without authorisation.
The 10-minute video, posted on YouTube on Tuesday (November 30), intercuts Zemmour’s candidacy speech with a montage of news footage and extracts from French film and TV shows. These included Gaumont titles Luc Besson’s Joan Of Arc and Henri Verneuil’s A Monkey In Winter...
- 12/1/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Anybody who thinks writers who use subtext are cowards will find plenty to admire in The Divide. Taking place over the course of one night, Catherine Corsini’s film charts the messy disintegration of a relationship amidst an overcrowded hospital emergency room, where staff are struggling to tend to the needs of the growing number of patients. If this sounds too subtle as a state-of-the-nation address, fear not––Corsini doesn’t want to leave anything even slightly ambiguous. This narrative is complemented by an overt political commentary consisting almost entirely of shouting matches between social classes (mostly arguments about Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen), and is set at the height of the 2018 Yellow Jackets protests, with clashes between police and protesters moving ever closer to hospital grounds.
Even those with the slightest knowledge of recent French history may find themselves rolling their eyes at the glaringly obvious points The Divide is trying to make.
Even those with the slightest knowledge of recent French history may find themselves rolling their eyes at the glaringly obvious points The Divide is trying to make.
- 7/26/2021
- by Alistair Ryder
- The Film Stage
When one conjures images of film schools, it’s often associated with college-level competition and camaraderie as budding directors attempt to prep their first features. Éric Baudelaire rethinks these ideas in his new documentary Un Film Dramatique, which was shot over the course of four years in the newly constructed Dora Maar middle school on the outskirts of Paris.
Following 21 middle schoolers who are part of a film club as they discuss the drama of their daily lives and experiment with cameras and equipment, the acclaimed film played at Locarno, TIFF, and NYFF, and will now arrive this month. It’ll open virtually on February 26 at Bam and Museum of the Moving Image in New York, Laemmle Theaters, and Acropolis Cinema in Los Angeles, and Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.
“Un film dramatique is fundamentally about awareness and powerlessness, the fact that the young people of France see everything going on around them,...
Following 21 middle schoolers who are part of a film club as they discuss the drama of their daily lives and experiment with cameras and equipment, the acclaimed film played at Locarno, TIFF, and NYFF, and will now arrive this month. It’ll open virtually on February 26 at Bam and Museum of the Moving Image in New York, Laemmle Theaters, and Acropolis Cinema in Los Angeles, and Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.
“Un film dramatique is fundamentally about awareness and powerlessness, the fact that the young people of France see everything going on around them,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The international news media today is utterly fixated on the U.S. presidential election that was still undecided as Tuesday night spilled into Wednesday. Throughout the morning, coverage blanketed cable TV, online and print outlets. Politicians in the UK, Germany, France and Russia have also begun to weigh in from both sides on the hotly-contested race.
The cable news nets in France and the UK are focused on the situation while the online editions of newspapers around the globe are leading with Donald Trump’s false claim that he has already won — and the response from Joe Biden’s camp. Among those are France’s Libération, Le Monde and Le Figaro; the UK’s Guardian, Telegraph, Independent and Times; Germany’s Allgemeine Zeitung and Der Spiegel; Italy’s La Repubblica and Corriere Della Sera; Spain’s El Pais and El Mundo; and Japan’s Asahi Shimbun.
Seemingly nonplussed, China’s state media,...
The cable news nets in France and the UK are focused on the situation while the online editions of newspapers around the globe are leading with Donald Trump’s false claim that he has already won — and the response from Joe Biden’s camp. Among those are France’s Libération, Le Monde and Le Figaro; the UK’s Guardian, Telegraph, Independent and Times; Germany’s Allgemeine Zeitung and Der Spiegel; Italy’s La Repubblica and Corriere Della Sera; Spain’s El Pais and El Mundo; and Japan’s Asahi Shimbun.
Seemingly nonplussed, China’s state media,...
- 11/4/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Schumacher, a documentary about famed Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, is in gear with German filmmakers Michael Wech and Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns directing. Rocket Science is presenting, executive producing and handling international sales, starting in Cannes next week. The timely film given this year marks 25 since Schumacher scored his first world championship, is currently in post and is fully supported by the driver’s family.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One pilots of all time, Schumacher is the only one in history to win seven Formula One World Championships, five of which were garnered consecutively with Ferrari. He also holds a number of other all-time racing records. After retiring in 2012, Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a skiing accident in 2013 and continues to receive medical treatment to this day.
Benjamin Seikel and Vanessa Nöcker of B | 14 Film are producing along with Dcm, who will...
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One pilots of all time, Schumacher is the only one in history to win seven Formula One World Championships, five of which were garnered consecutively with Ferrari. He also holds a number of other all-time racing records. After retiring in 2012, Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a skiing accident in 2013 and continues to receive medical treatment to this day.
Benjamin Seikel and Vanessa Nöcker of B | 14 Film are producing along with Dcm, who will...
- 5/11/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The first official feature documentary about Formula One racing legend Michael Schumacher is in the final stages of production, with award-winning German filmmakers Michael Wech and Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns directing. Rocket Science will launch sales at Cannes.
“Schumacher” will tell the eponymous sporting star’s story. He is the only driver in history to win seven Formula One World Championships. Five of those were won consecutively with the iconic Ferrari team.
The German driver is recognized as one of the best Formula One drivers of all time. After making a comeback, he finally retired in 2012. In 2013, he suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident that left him in an induced coma for six months, from which he is still in recovery.
The sports star’s family support the film. There will be rare interviews and never-before-seen archival footage. It will be framed by Schumacher’s 50th birthday and the 25th...
“Schumacher” will tell the eponymous sporting star’s story. He is the only driver in history to win seven Formula One World Championships. Five of those were won consecutively with the iconic Ferrari team.
The German driver is recognized as one of the best Formula One drivers of all time. After making a comeback, he finally retired in 2012. In 2013, he suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident that left him in an induced coma for six months, from which he is still in recovery.
The sports star’s family support the film. There will be rare interviews and never-before-seen archival footage. It will be framed by Schumacher’s 50th birthday and the 25th...
- 5/11/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival is going forward with its decision to award an honorary Palme d’Or to Alain Delon despite criticism from the U.S. organization Women and Hollywood over comments that the veteran French actor has made about slapping women, opposing the adoption of children by same-sex parents and supporting the rise of the far right in France.
Following Cannes’ April 17 announcement of the honor, Women and Hollywood founder Melissa Silverstein said she was “extremely disappointed” that Cannes would honor someone who held such “abhorrent values.” In a tweet, Silverstein said Delon “has publicly admitted to slapping women. He has aligned himself with the racist and anti-Semitic National Front. He has claimed that being gay is ‘against nature.’ The Cannes Film Festival has committed itself to diversity and inclusion. By honoring Mr. Delon, Cannes is honoring these abhorrent values.”
Cannes told Variety that it was “honoring Alain Delon...
Following Cannes’ April 17 announcement of the honor, Women and Hollywood founder Melissa Silverstein said she was “extremely disappointed” that Cannes would honor someone who held such “abhorrent values.” In a tweet, Silverstein said Delon “has publicly admitted to slapping women. He has aligned himself with the racist and anti-Semitic National Front. He has claimed that being gay is ‘against nature.’ The Cannes Film Festival has committed itself to diversity and inclusion. By honoring Mr. Delon, Cannes is honoring these abhorrent values.”
Cannes told Variety that it was “honoring Alain Delon...
- 5/6/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
“What’s wrong with elitism?” asked Washington Post columnist Max Boot this week on Twitter. Boot posed this in a discussion about the merits of centrism, raised in the context of the “yellow vest” protests against the government of Emmanuel Macron in France.
American media seems to be confused by the protests. Few seem to understand what protesters want, or even who they are. Some outlets describe protesters as Trump-like nationalists aligned with Marine Le Pen, others as antifa-style leftists aligned with Jean-Luc Melenchon.
The marchers actually cut across all political lines,...
American media seems to be confused by the protests. Few seem to understand what protesters want, or even who they are. Some outlets describe protesters as Trump-like nationalists aligned with Marine Le Pen, others as antifa-style leftists aligned with Jean-Luc Melenchon.
The marchers actually cut across all political lines,...
- 12/13/2018
- by Matt Taibbi
- Rollingstone.com
It is only natural to ask why President Trump chose to make himself look like such a chump. Was it really blackmail? Is he worried about an actual scatalogical recording of himself with Russian sex workers? Whatever the reason, the president of the United States went limp Monday as he stood next to Vladimir Putin, a thug who murders journalists, poisons political opponents and successfully attacked American democracy two years ago. The whole thing was a spectacle that was almost Shakespearean in its disaster, calling to mind Mercutio’s description...
- 7/17/2018
- by Jamil Smith
- Rollingstone.com
Politics and espionage for principle and pay are served up in Epix‘s excellent spy thriller Berlin Station Season 2. One of the best actors in the ensemble, Leland Orser, brings his character Robert Kirsch to the forefront with perfectly written dialogue and an energetic ferocity. In the titular city, a charismatic female leader, Katerina Gerhardt [Natalia Wörner] — more Marine Le Pen than Angela Merkel — has risen in the alt-right ranks. She has a formidable shadow enforcer named Otto Ganz [Thomas Kretschmann] muscling behind the scenes. The storyline is frighteningly close to real life and we spoke in depth...read more...
- 10/13/2017
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
The major Hollywood studios didn’t bring their goodies, most of the top titles have already landed distribution deals and the decision to open the doors to a streaming company has given organizers headaches. But the Cannes Film Festival will welcome its 70th anniversary this week with enough movie stars and venerated international auteurs to put everyone along the Croisette in a festive mood. Besides, last week’s election of centrist Emmanuel Macron over the far-right, closed-border candidate Marine Le Pen will give Cannes’ host country another reason to celebrate — because, let’s face it, France now gets to look progressive in.
- 5/16/2017
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Hillary Clinton ripped the media, foreign hackers and congratulated France in a single tweet on Sunday after centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Victory for Macron, for France, the EU, & the world. Defeat to those interfering w/democracy. (But the media says I can't talk about that) — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 7, 2017 The former secretary of state was referring to backlash she experienced after saying during an interview last week that she would have won the election if not for a combination of Russian interference and comments made by FBI Director James Comey. “If the election had been on.
- 5/8/2017
- by Brian Flood
- The Wrap
News that liberal-centrist Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential election in a landslide victory over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen became the No. 1 talked-about topic on Twitter Sunday, especially among the media. The Atlantic’s senior editor David Frum voiced his opinion with a meme of the Titanic sinking and the caption “Americans can take pride that their example still shapes the world,” Meanwhile, MSNBC’s Joy Reid said it succinctly in a foreign tongue: “Au revoir les fascists!” Also Read: Hollywood Celebrates Emmanuel Macron's Win of French Presidency: 'Merci France' Here are a few more of those no-holds-barred...
- 5/7/2017
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Celebrities including Chelsea Handler and Debra Messing are reacting jubilantly to the French presidential election on Twitter, where voters have elected Emmanuel Macron.
At just 39, Macron is France’s youngest leader ever — breaking a 169-year record held by the famed French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who took power at age 40. Thousands of people poured in the streets of Paris after polls closed on Sunday night, honking horns and celebrating.
Back in the States, Sophia Bush penned a tweet in French accompanying a photo of the winning politician, while Alyssa Milano used stronger words, tweeting, “F— you, @wikileaks. #VivelaFrance.” (Macron was hacked...
At just 39, Macron is France’s youngest leader ever — breaking a 169-year record held by the famed French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who took power at age 40. Thousands of people poured in the streets of Paris after polls closed on Sunday night, honking horns and celebrating.
Back in the States, Sophia Bush penned a tweet in French accompanying a photo of the winning politician, while Alyssa Milano used stronger words, tweeting, “F— you, @wikileaks. #VivelaFrance.” (Macron was hacked...
- 5/7/2017
- by Katherine Richter
- PEOPLE.com
France took a very different path than the United States in their presidential election as centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in a landslide. Hollywood activists were among the first to celebrate the victory of Macron. Phew. — Christine Vachon (@kvpi) May 7, 2017 Macron was quickly declared the winner after polls closed at 8 p.m. local time, with 65.5 percent of the vote against 34.5 percent in favor of Le Pen, who pushed anti-immigrant and nationalist views in her campaign. Although President Trump wouldn’t endorse a specific candidate in the French election, he called Le Pen the “strongest”...
- 5/7/2017
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
France’s face-to-face presidential debate on Wednesday night was a no-holds barred, gloves-off match-up between frontrunner Emmanuel Macron and challenger Marine Le Pen.
Unlike previous years’ presidential debates, this one was more boxing match than civil discourse — with both candidates speaking over one another, both constantly ignoring moderators and frustrating every attempt to reign them to order.
In the unruly — though often entertaining — face-off, the two candidates characterized each other on-air as serial liars, clueless on issues; wildly out of touch with French voters; as “an arrogant smirking banker” and “the high priestess of fear.” The clashes put some commentators...
Unlike previous years’ presidential debates, this one was more boxing match than civil discourse — with both candidates speaking over one another, both constantly ignoring moderators and frustrating every attempt to reign them to order.
In the unruly — though often entertaining — face-off, the two candidates characterized each other on-air as serial liars, clueless on issues; wildly out of touch with French voters; as “an arrogant smirking banker” and “the high priestess of fear.” The clashes put some commentators...
- 5/4/2017
- by Peter Mikelbank
- PEOPLE.com
Just 105 days into his post-presidency, Barack Obama is back at it, taking the unusual (for a former U.S. president) step of weighing into a foreign election.
On Thursday afternoon, a video was made public of the former president expressing his endorsement of French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.
The brief 1:10 video posted on Macron’s Twitter site begins with Obama expressing his gratitude for the friendship of the French people and explaining: “I’m not planning on getting involved in many elections now that I don’t have to run for office again …
“But the French election is very...
On Thursday afternoon, a video was made public of the former president expressing his endorsement of French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.
The brief 1:10 video posted on Macron’s Twitter site begins with Obama expressing his gratitude for the friendship of the French people and explaining: “I’m not planning on getting involved in many elections now that I don’t have to run for office again …
“But the French election is very...
- 5/4/2017
- by Peter Mikelbank/Paris
- PEOPLE.com
Update, writetrhu with Barack Obama video: Three days before France heads to the polls to determine the country’s next president — and the morning after a scathing debate between candidates Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron — the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma has thrown its support firmly behind the latter. Also today, former U.S. President Barack Obama weighed in with a video posted to Macron’s Twitter feed, saying, “The success of France matters to the…...
- 5/4/2017
- Deadline TV
The members of France’s writers/directors/producers association l’Arp have thrown their weight against National Front (Fn) presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, urging the industry to preserve freedom of expression with a vote for independent centrist Emmanuel Macron. Compared to their American counterparts ahead of the U.S. election last year, French filmmakers and celebrities have been less vocal in expressing political opinions publicly. But with France heading to the…...
- 5/2/2017
- Deadline
Outspoken director Luc Besson has penned a lengthy screed titled “The Grand Illusion” hitting out at far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.
Le Pen has made it to the second round of voting and will face off against independent centrist Emmanuel Macron on May 7.
The election has been closely followed by the world’s media because of Le Pen’s isolationist rhetoric, which calls for France to leave the EU, ditch the euro currency and close the French borders while kicking out immigrants. The first round of voting completely knocked out the traditional Republican and Socialist parties, creating not only...
Le Pen has made it to the second round of voting and will face off against independent centrist Emmanuel Macron on May 7.
The election has been closely followed by the world’s media because of Le Pen’s isolationist rhetoric, which calls for France to leave the EU, ditch the euro currency and close the French borders while kicking out immigrants. The first round of voting completely knocked out the traditional Republican and Socialist parties, creating not only...
- 4/29/2017
- by Rhonda Richford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Luc Besson came out swinging against far right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen in a lengthy statement posted today to his Facebook account. In the statement, entitled “La Grande Illusion,” Besson was unflinching in his assessment of Le Pen, leader of the Front National political party and recently second runner-up in the first round of the French presidential election. “The devil is the devil and when he pretends to change,” he said, “it’s to abuse us better.” “It’s easy to lay the blame for everything on ‘others.’ Personally, I would like to thank all the North Africans,...
- 4/29/2017
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
France will go to the polls on May 7 to determine the country’s next president, choosing between extreme right National Front (Fn) candidate Marine Le Pen, who has run on an anti-immigration, anti-eu platform, and independent centrist Emmanuel Macron. The latter currently leads in the polls, but as we’ve seen in the recent past, surprises can lurk around any corner. And although the French film industry is largely anti-Le Pen, filmmakers and celebrities have been less…...
- 4/29/2017
- Deadline
“Donald Trump” premiered the very first episode of “The President Show” on Comedy Central Thursday night, talking about why he just can’t seem to fire press secretary Sean Spicer. “He’s a muttering slobber-mouth with a taste for his own foot. Why don’t I fire this guy?” “Trump” asked before revealing the answer: ratings. “Trump,” played by comedian Anthony Atamanuik, stars in the parody talk show, which includes segments like “Nice! Not Nice!,” in which he talks about all the people and things he likes and doesn’t like. First up is far-right candidate for President of France Marine Le Pen,...
- 4/28/2017
- by Carli Velocci
- The Wrap
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mesdames et Messieurs, fasten your seat belts. If you’re paying attention to the French presidential election (and you should be!), you’re in a for a bumpy two-week campaign.
The two presidential finalists selected by French voters this weekend are both mavericks, but the similarities stop there. One, is a former tax inspector turned Rothschild investment banker; the other, an outspoken European Union representative leading a campaign against that very organization.
Both Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen ran as outsiders and while the outcome of their run-off isn’t a foregone conclusion, their selection represents...
The two presidential finalists selected by French voters this weekend are both mavericks, but the similarities stop there. One, is a former tax inspector turned Rothschild investment banker; the other, an outspoken European Union representative leading a campaign against that very organization.
Both Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen ran as outsiders and while the outcome of their run-off isn’t a foregone conclusion, their selection represents...
- 4/24/2017
- by Peter Mikelbank
- PEOPLE.com
2017-04-17T11:51:57-07:00John Oliver Has a Warning for French Votersclass="column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4" data-reactid="226">
John Oliver want French voters to be very, very careful in their upcoming election. Current president François Hollande is not running for reelection, so France is currently choosing from a field in which the two frontrunners are center-left candidate Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, president of the far-right National Front. “Honestly, she is the main reason you should be invested in this election,” Oliver said of Le Pen on Last Week Tonight.
Oliver warned French voters that their choices in the upcoming presidential race would have repercussions far outside the borders of their country. “One of the frustrating things about watching this unfold from America is this feels a little like déjà vu: a potentially destabilizing populist campaigning on anti-immigrant rhetoric who...
John Oliver want French voters to be very, very careful in their upcoming election. Current president François Hollande is not running for reelection, so France is currently choosing from a field in which the two frontrunners are center-left candidate Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, president of the far-right National Front. “Honestly, she is the main reason you should be invested in this election,” Oliver said of Le Pen on Last Week Tonight.
Oliver warned French voters that their choices in the upcoming presidential race would have repercussions far outside the borders of their country. “One of the frustrating things about watching this unfold from America is this feels a little like déjà vu: a potentially destabilizing populist campaigning on anti-immigrant rhetoric who...
- 4/17/2017
- by EG
- Yidio
On Sunday's Last Week Tonight, John Oliver pleaded with French voters not to "fuck up" and elect their own President Trump in the country's upcoming election.
The first round of France's presidential election begins next Sunday, and the comedian echoed the grave sentiments of many political commentators: "It is not an exaggeration to say that, post-Brexit and with a wave of far-right populism sweeping Europe, the fate of the EU may hang on this election," he warned. "Multiple candidates support a French Brexit, and the consequences of that would be steep.
The first round of France's presidential election begins next Sunday, and the comedian echoed the grave sentiments of many political commentators: "It is not an exaggeration to say that, post-Brexit and with a wave of far-right populism sweeping Europe, the fate of the EU may hang on this election," he warned. "Multiple candidates support a French Brexit, and the consequences of that would be steep.
- 4/17/2017
- Rollingstone.com
‘Last Week Tonight’: John Oliver Visits a Very French Bistro to Explain Terrifying Elections — Watch
John Oliver turned HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” into a scene right out of classic French Cinema on Sunday in an attempt to persuade the French not to elect a “demagogic asshole” in presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. Oliver began the show by explaining that the upcoming French presidential election could very well determine the fate of the European Union.
Read More: John Oliver Offers Donald Trump His Emmy If He Accepts Election Results
“It is way more important than you might realize,” Oliver said. “Multiple candidates support a French Brexit, and the consequences of that would be steep.” He added that as much as a third of French voters might abstain from voting, a result that would only help Le Pen’s chances.
Switching the setting from his news desk to a French bistro in black and white and lighting a cigarette, Oliver then proceeded to speak entirely in...
Read More: John Oliver Offers Donald Trump His Emmy If He Accepts Election Results
“It is way more important than you might realize,” Oliver said. “Multiple candidates support a French Brexit, and the consequences of that would be steep.” He added that as much as a third of French voters might abstain from voting, a result that would only help Le Pen’s chances.
Switching the setting from his news desk to a French bistro in black and white and lighting a cigarette, Oliver then proceeded to speak entirely in...
- 4/17/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
As any casual visit to Donald Trump’s Twitter feed will demonstrate, the 45th president nurses a lot of grudges. And it seems like Amanda Knox is one of the many people who has hurt his feelings It all came out in a New York Times profile Friday of Italian-American businessman George Guido Lombardi, a Trump Tower resident who has presented himself as a point of contact between the president and hard-right European political parties. The article contains many interesting details about Lombardi’s purported relationships with European white nationalists like Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders, albeit with plenty of implied side eye.
- 4/14/2017
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
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