Mediapart has obtained the rushes, hitherto unseen in public, of a video interview with Ziad Takieddine, a key witness in the probe into the alleged Libyan funding of Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential election campaign, in which the Franco-Lebanese business intermediary retracted his earlier testimony detailing how Sarkozy received the cash sums from Tripoli. The video was broadcast as an edited 32-second “exclusive” in November 2020 by French rolling news channel BFMTV, before Takieddine, who had been promised payment, finally disowned his retraction and an investigation into “witness tampering” was launched. The unedited video rushes, published in this report, reveal the extent of the manipulation by BFMTV in operation dubbed “Save Sarko”. Fabrice Arfi, Karl Laske and Antton Rouget report.

In November 2020, a key witness in the French judicial investigation into alleged funding by the Gaddafi regime of former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign publicly retracted his testimony. French-Lebanese business intermediary Ziad Takieddine had previously detailed how he brought suitcases of cash from Tripoli to Paris for Sarkozy’s campaign. A separate judicial investigation into “witness tampering” subsequently established that Takieddine had been promised several million euros to retract his allegations. Mediapart can now reveal how, illustrated by a remarkable exchange of phone text messages, the management of France’s rolling news channel BFMTV, which broadcast a video of Takieddine’s retraction, connived with the attempt to undermine the Libyan funding probe. Fabrice Arfi, Karl Laske and Antton Rouget report.

Contrary to many predictions, France’s far-right Rassemblement National party failed to win an absolute majority in parliament in the elections that concluded last weekend. But it nevertheless garnered more votes than any other party or alliance, and numerous observers warn that its support is likely to grow stronger ahead of presidential elections due in 2027. Amid what might prove simply a respite, Mediapart turned to political activists, writers, academics and journalists who live, or have lived, under far-right and populist governments, to hear their views on the situation in France, and which included the advice to prepare for the worst now. Justine Brabant reports.

Emmanuel Macron’s dissolution of parliament destroyed his centre-right party’s previous relative majority, and in the ensuing elections it was overtaken by the broad coalition of leftwing parties, the Nouveau Front Populaire, which now represents the largest bloc in the National Assembly. But despite the credibility the French president has lost with his roll of the dice, and despite the unpopularity of his Renaissance party as expressed in the urns, many among the Macron camp still apparently believe they have the upper hand in French politics, writes Mediapart political affairs correspondent Ellen Salvi in this op-ed article. As difficult negotiations began this week to form a new government, the depleted Macronists have even been lecturing opponents, and notably the Left, on their conditions for supposedly sharing power.

Paris is hosting the Paralympic Games and the organisation of infrastructures for the more than 4,000 competing athletes has been widely praised. But outside the Olympic village, the daily obstacles in the path of the disabled in the French capital, and in particular for wheelchair users, in taking public transport, accessing a GP’s surgery or entering shops, can be a major challenge. “It is an undeclared form of segregation,” commented Nicolas Mérille, national advisor on issues of accessibility for APF France Handicap, an association that champions the rights of the disabled. Cécile Hautefeuille reports.

France went to the polls on Sunday in the second and final round of crucial parliamentary elections to elect the members of the French lower house, the National Assembly. The snap elections were called by centre-right President Emmanuel Macron one month ago after the far-right’s resounding victory in France in the voting in European Parliament elections. Macron’s move, in which he hoped to defeat the far-right and diminish his opponents on both the Left and Right, was a gamble that threw the country into turmoil, with the far-right tipped to win an absolute majority after the second round. But after a knife-edge week, it was not to be. Follow the events on Sunday in our live coverage of results and reactions as they came in through the evening, and which saw an alliance of the Left win the day. Reporting by Michael Streeter and Graham Tearse.

The far-right Rassemblement National party hopes to win an absolute majority after the second round of voting on Sunday in France’s parliamentary elections. In this op-ed article, Mediapart’s publishing editor Carine Fouteau examines what is at stake behind Sunday’s poll, and calls on all those still hesitating over their choice at the urns to urgently examine their conscience and prevent the far-right from reaching power.

The landslide of votes cast for the far-right Rassemblement National party in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday have put it on course to gain a possible absolute majority in the National Assembly after next Sunday’s final, second-round vote. Among the far-right candidates whose high scores last Sunday leave them likely to be elected to parliament next weekend are individuals who take to social media with openly racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and homophobic comments. Antton Rouget reports.      

France went to the polls this Sunday for the first round of crunch parliamentary elections to elect the 577 members of the next National Assembly. This unscheduled snap election has taken place as a result of President Emmanuel Macron's unexpected decision on June 9th to dissolve the Assembly. But that gamble looks as if it has backfired spectacularly and dramatically. Various projections after today's first round of voting suggest that the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) could pick up around 260 to 280 seats or more in next week's decisive second round vote. If so, there is a chance that France could get its first far-right government since 1945; they need 289 for a majority. The new leftwing alliance Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) is also expected to do well, and may pick up 160 seats. But the president's centre-right coalition looks set to be heavily defeated. With the centre-right and Left tonight pledging to block the RN's path to power, the likely outcomes look set to be either a narrow RN majority or, more probably, a hung Parliament with the RN as the single biggest party. Follow our live coverage of the first-round results and reactions as they came in through the evening. Reporting by Graham Tearse and Michael Streeter.

A collapse in support for the centre-right camp of President Emmanuel Macron, a stronger leftwing alliance and a potentially game-changing breakthrough by the far-right Rassemblement National ... as voters head for the ballot box today for the first round of what is both an uncertain and an historic parliamentary election, Mediapart examines what is at stake for the main political groups taking part. Mathieu Dejean, Pauline Graulle, Youmni Kezzouf, Ilyes Ramdani and Ellen Salvi report.