Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Brigitte Macron Issues Conditional Apology Over 'Sales Connes' Remark, Cites Private Context

Her interview followed an accidental PR leak of a backstage exchange with comedian Ary Abittan.

Overview

  • In a video interview with Brut, she said she was sorry if victims felt hurt but maintained she could not regret the private words.
  • She described the remark as an awkward attempt to reassure Ary Abittan after activists disrupted his show by shouting “Abittan, rapist.”
  • She criticized the interruption of performances as a form of censorship and asserted a right to private life and private speech.
  • Authorities later discontinued investigations into the 2021 rape allegation against Abittan for lack of evidence, a result activists continue to contest.
  • Two feminist groups say they have filed a legal complaint accusing her of insult and denigration, according to local reports, as the dispute intensifies debate over France’s handling of sexual violence.