Gavin Mortimer

It was the slap that shook the world. Not so much from shock but laughter, as cameras caught the Macrons having a domestic on an international flight. A book published this week in France claims that Brigitte slapped her husband after discovering ‘a steamy message’ on Emmanuel’s phone sent by an actress. According to Un Couple (Presque) Parfait, ‘Slapgate’ wasn’t the first time Brigitte had to bring her husband to heel over a woman The books says the sender was Iranian-born Golshifteh Farahani, who came to prominence in 2008 when she starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the Ridley Scott film, Body of Lies. Brigitte allegedly found the message as the presidential jet landed at Hanoi airport in May last year.

France is intensifying its counter-offensive against what it calls misinformation. Earlier this month, Paris prosecutors confirmed they have opened a criminal investigation into Elon Musk and X. Musk had ignored a summons to appear for a voluntary interview on April 20. The French state requested Musk assist in an investigation into algorithmic manipulation and the spread of AI deepfakes on X. Musk responded to the criminal investigation by labeling the prosecutors “faker than a chocolate euro and queerer than a pink flamingo in a neon tutu!” On the same day, Paris unveiled its “French Response” strategy. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, posted a video on X (where else?

Iran has declared that the Strait of Hormuz is ‘completely open’ in an announcement that has been welcomed by Donald Trump. In response to the statement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the US President declared his gratitude on social media. Iran says the shipping lane will remain open for the ‘remaining period of ceasefire’; the two-week truce agreed between the USA and Iran expires on 22 April. Springtime in the French capital is always a delight but particularly for Starmer after the latest revelations about Peter Mandelson The Strait of Hormuz – through which one fifth of the world’s oil flows – has been closed since America launched its offensive against Iran at the end of February.

Four migrants drowned in the Channel yesterday when they were swept away by strong currents. The two men and two women who died were among dozens of migrants whose overloaded boat foundered off the coast of Boulogne early this morning. Thirty-eight people were rescued by the French authorities Six people have died so far this month in trying to reach England across the world’s busiest shipping lane. A far greater humanitarian disaster is unfolding in the Mediterranean, however, where nearly 1,000 migrants have perished in 2026. The number may actually be far higher after Cyclone Harry ripped through the southern Mediterranean in January. Bodies are regularly being washed up on the beaches of southern Italy and northern Africa.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating rose by six points last week. It will likely continue to climb following his visit to the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier on Monday. The pride of the French navy recently arrived in the eastern Mediterranean to protect Cyprus, and Macron was in his element as he strode across the deck of the carrier. A photograph of the occasion appeared in the New York Times underneath the headline: "France Is Sending a Large Naval Force to the Middle East." The last time there was a great conflagration in the Middle East, France was very much on the sidelines Macron was helicoptered onto the Charles de Gaulle from a press conference at an air base in Cyprus.

An editorial in Friday’s Le Figaro (France’s equivalent to the New York Times) is headlined "Mélenchon or the moral suicide of the left." The same statement could be applied to Britain’s Green party. Their open pandering to the Muslim vote in Thursday’s Gorton & Denton by-election was arguably a new low in British politics. It wasn’t just Israel and so-called Islamophobes who were targeted (in Urdu) in their campaign leaflets and videos, so was India. Le Figaro’s scathing critique of the left-wing populist leader Jean-Luc Melenchon was written as a reaction to his visit to Lyon on Thursday evening. A fortnight earlier 23-year-old Quentin Deranque had been kicked to death in Lyon, allegedly by a far-left mob.