France: Far-right party’s deputy leader suing magazine that ‘outed’ him
The deputy leader of France’s far-right Front National party is suing a magazine that printed photos of him with a male companion.
Florian Philippot is the deputy leader of the FN, which is allied with the British National Party, and has been accused of fostering homophobic violence by aligning itself with aggressive anti-equal marriage factions.
The French Closer magazine – which is a separate entity from the British version – this month printed photographs of Mr Philippot being intimate with another man, taken covertly with a long-lens camera.
The magazine is famed for its invasive exposes, printing topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton in 2012, and exposing President François Hollande’s alleged affair with an actress earlier this year.
Speaking on Friday, party leader Marine Le Pen said that Mr Philippot did not wish to give “this rag” any publicity over its claims, but he will be taking them to court.
Le Pen previously called for more press regulation, saying: “If these newspapers were condemned as they violate privacy, and fined corresponding to the money they have earned through this invasion of privacy, then they wouldn’t do this. It’s that simple than that.
“It’s profitability alone that allows these newspapers to carry out violations. If it was not profitable to do, believe me they would not.
“This is a very serious infringement of an individual’s privacy. This type of behaviour is unbearable – Florian Philippot is entitled to a private life as much as [President] Hollande.”
