The RN's Jean-Philippe Tanguy, Marine Le Pen, Thierry Mariani and Philippe Olivier during the committee of inquiry into foreign interference at the National Assembly. © Photomontage Mediapart

This week the publication of a Parliamentary inquiry into foreign interference in France will reveal the close ties between Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and the Russian regime of Vladimir Putin. The party, formerly known as the Front National, was itself responsible for this investigation and chaired the inquiry; on the surface this looks like an attempt at transparency. In reality, it was simply a ploy to try to clear its name, though the party is still furious over the contents of the final report, parts of which have been leaked. Mediapart spent many hours following the hearings conducted by the committee. Here Matthieu Suc and Marine Turchi report on a process that became a charade.

A screening at the '5 Caumartin' cinema in Paris, June 2020. © Photo Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

As she accepted the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival for her movie 'Anatomie d'une Chute' last weekend, director Justine Triet warned about the growing threats to the cinema industry in France. She said the French government was too indulgent towards American streaming platforms, state support for the film sector was drying up, while cinema audiences are down. The government and its supporters quickly hit back, accusing her of 'ingratitude', as her own film received public grants. But in using her acceptance speech to attack what she sees as a neoliberal assault on France's cinematographic 'cultural exception', Justine Triet was aiming at the right target, says Mediapart's Mathias Thépot. Here he analyses the challenges facing one of France's cultural crown jewels.

Martin Bouygues (left) and François-Henri Pinault. © Photo illustration Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart avec AFP

French billionaires François-Henri Pinault and Martin Bouygues share ownership of a high-end Agusta AW-139 helicopter, whose maker claims it “embodies the hallmarks of elegance, style and sophistication”. Mediapart and data collection collective Mémoire vive have traced the businessmen’s use of the aircraft over the past year, and found that many of its flights were for short hops to their different holiday homes, vineyards and to London. While Pinault’s luxury goods group Kering and Bouygues’ construction and telecoms group are keen to boast of reducing their carbon footprints, the total CO2 emissions of the 235 flights of their shared helicopter since September last year amount to 317 tonnes, which is equivalent to the average emissions of a person in France over a period of 32 years.

Emmanuel Macron at Roubaix in northern France on May 25th 2023, after the death of three police officers in a car crash. © Yoan Valat / Pool / AFP

Last week, following a series of violent but unrelated incidents in the country, French president Emmanuel Macron told ministers that the government needed to “counter this process of decivilisation”. The expression immediately provoked controversy. In this analysis, Mediapart’s publishing editor Edwy Plenel says that despite what his supporters claim, the president's choice of the word “decivilisation” owes nothing to the late German sociologist Norbert Elias and instead owes everything to the normalisation of far-right ideas.

An 18th century illustrating depicting the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, visiting his empire; and some of the terracotta army of soldiers guarding the emperor's tomb. © Photos Wikimedias commons

French academic Alexis Lycas has just published a book on mediaeval China which counters the popularly-held notion of a Chinese state with a linear, unbroken and united history stretching into the distant past. The historian says that following the creation of its empire more than 2,000 years ago, China has been “divided for longer than it's been than united”. This approach is more than simply fascinating scholarly history; it also provides a valuable insight into the myth-making historical narrative of the current Chinese regime. François Bougon spoke to Alexis Lycas, who has been taking part in the 'L’histoire à venir' festival in south-west France, an event in which Mediapart is a partner.

Staff have raised concerns about the living conditions of sheep on some sites run by Ecomouton, one of the French leaders in the eco-grazing sector. © DR

The practice of using sheep rather than mowers to keep down the grass in green spaces has grown massively in popularity over the last decade in France. It is seen as environmentally-friendly, quieter - and more cost effective. But behind the scenes there is fierce competition for market share between some of the companies and individuals that oversee the sheep grazing, in what can be a lucrative business. And as Floriane Louison reports, there are fears this competition can come at the price of the animals' well-being, and broader concerns that eco-grazing may amount to little more than a form of 'greenwashing'. 

Spyware target: Florence Parly arriving at the Élysée Palace, May 7th 2022. © Photo illustration Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

France’s former armed forces minister Florence Parly was unknowingly targeted while in office by the secret Pegasus spyware, sold to governments by Israeli surveillance technology firm NSO Group, bringing the total number of French ministers whose phones were infected with the eavesdropping tool – along with that of President Emmanuel Macron – to seven, Mediapart has learnt. A judicial investigation has established that at least 23 people in France, including journalists as well as politicians, fell victim to the spyware between 2019 and 2020. Fabrice Arfi and Ellen Salvi report.

David Thomas. © Photo Olivier Lemaire / L'Olivier

One of France’s most prestigious literary prizes, the Goncourt, is awarded each year to works published in French in five separate categories, from novels to poetry. This month, the 2023 Prix Goncourt for a book of short stories went to David Thomas for Partout les autres, a collection of quick-fire microfictions that mirror societal issues. In this review, Quentin Margne, from the French literary journal En attendant Nadeau, enthuses over Thomas’s mischievousness and wit, making fun of his contemporaries while raising profound questions, accomplished with art and subtlety.

Left to right: Brice Hortefeux, Claude Guéant, Nicolas Sarkozy and Éric Woerth. © Photo illustration Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

French prosecutors earlier this month recommended that former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, along with three of his former ministers and nine other individuals, stand trial for the alleged illegal funding of his 2007 election campaign by the regime of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Mediapart obtained access to the 425-page document in which the prosecutors detail the evidence and their conclusions. The Libyan financing arrangements could not have been carried out, they write, “without the consent and the perfect knowledge” of Sarkozy, for whom “the hoped-for advantage consisted of obtaining secret financial support for the 2007 electoral campaign”. Fabrice Arfi and Karl Laske report.

Saplings planted in Montmorency forest near Paris after clear-felling of diseased trees. © Bertrand Gardel /Hemis via AFP

The French government is preparing a vast programme aimed at renewing the country’s more than 17 million hectares of forested land to meet the new realities of climate change, and which is to be presented in draft legislation before Parliament this autumn. It stems from the announcement by President Emmanuel Macron following wildfires last year that one billion new trees are to be planted over a ten-year period. But, as Floriane Louison reports, the plan has prompted serious concerns among scientists over its potentially negative consequences for the environment and the sustainability of the very forests it is supposed to protect.

Bashar al-Assad (right) with Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Damascus, April 18th 2023. © Photo de la page Facebook de la présidence syrienne via AFP

The pariah regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, ostracised for its bloody repression of opponents in a civil war estimated to have caused the deaths of more than 300,000 civilians, was last weekend re-admitted, with the encouragement of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to the Arab League. While the French government, like those of other Western countries, insists there will be no normalisation of its relations with the Assad regime, there are some in France’s economic circles who are openly keen to resume business dealings with Damascus. Elie Guckert reports.

Gendarmes push back a protestor in demonstrations staged during a visit by Emmanuel Macron to Muttersholtz, north-east France, on April 19th 2023. © Photo Abdesslam Mirdass / Hans Lucas via AFP

Since the start of the protest movement against the government's pension reforms, French police officers have been arresting more and more demonstrators over insults aimed at President Emmanuel Macron. This offence is commonly known as 'lèse-majesté' - or in this case 'lèse-Macron'. However, a decade ago the crime of insulting the president of the Republic was declared to be in contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights and was removed from French law. As Jérôme Hourdeaux reports, lawyers say they are worried that the government no longer appears to tolerate criticism.

© Justine Vernier / Mediapart

A “revolution”, a “jolt” an “emancipation” … however one wants to describe this contemporary feminist period, the fact remains that five years after it began #MeToo is at a crossroads; weakened for internal reasons and opposed by those whom it challenges. In this article, the first in a series, Lénaïg Bredoux and Joseph Confavreux assess the current status of the #MeToo movement.

Between 2018 and 2022 Delphine, Bernard and Antoine Arnault received 49,380 shares, representing a deferred profit of 30.7 million euros. © Photo illustration Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart avec AFP

French businessman Bernard Arnault, the boss of the luxury goods group LVMH, has reached the peak of the Mount Everest of wealth. He is now firmly ensconced as the richest person in the world, far outstripping his rivals below. And his family's fortune just looks set to keep on growing. Every year the income from the family's capital stake in the group alone can be counted in the billions – vast sums which in turn generate yet more profits. Martine Orange examines the figures of this colossal money-making system.

Marlène Schiappa arriving at the Ministry of the Interior January 4th 2023. © Photo Xose Bouzas / Hans Lucas via AFP

Months after the 2020 murder of history and geographer teacher Samuel Paty by a radicalised youth, junior minister Marlène Schiappa set up the Fonds Marianne to counter extremism and 'defend Republican values'. This government-funded body has since paid out just over two million euros to 17 different associations. But investigations by the media, including Mediapart, have raised question marks over two of the associations who received large sums from the fund and over the way this money was used. One in particular, Reconstruire le Commun, went on to publish videos attacking opponents of President Emmanuel Macron during the 2022 elections. And Mediapart can reveal that there are fresh questions today over the profile of some of those who took part in that charity's videos. Meanwhile, opposition politicians are calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into the affair, which has also been referred to the prosecution authorities. Antton Rouget and Ellen Salvi report.