The two rules that Parisians broke in the hot summer of 2025
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
In July, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte sued US influencer Candace Owens for her allegations that Mrs Macron was "born a man." With others now on trial for cyberbullying Mrs Macron, the incident has highlighted a massive cultural shift.
ST GRAPHIC: FA'IZAH SANI
Follow topic:
Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they’re based in.
For more than a century, it was quite accepted in France that Presidents and male politicians could have mistresses, and no one would pry into their private lives.
But public attitudes are changing, and this is manifested in persistent curiosity about President Emmanuel Macron and his wife - who have now taken the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit to battle scurrilous allegations.
In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying hosts global affairs correspondent Jonathan Eyal, who takes his skewer to double standards, culture wars and conspiracy theories that are fuelling the change.
Highlights (click/tap above):
1:48 Paris in summer: A hotbed of scandals
4:11 Climate and political heat
7:01 Changing political privacy norms in France
9:29 The role of social media and disinformation
13:31 Macron’s political challenges and scandals
Read Jonathan Eyal’s article here:
Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn:
Sign up for ST’s weekly Asian Insider newsletter:
Host: Li Xueying ( xueying@sph.com.sg
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Executive producer: Ernest Luis
Follow Asian Insider on Fridays here:
---
Follow more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel:
The Usual Place Podcast YouTube:
---
Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
