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French far-right leader urges action on deepfakes mimicking Le Pens

The president of France's far-right National Rally called Saturday for regulation of deepfakes after bogus TikTok videos purported to show members of the party's founding Le Pen family ahead of EU elections.

French far-right leader urges action on deepfakes mimicking Le Pens
Marine Le Pen (R) and RN President and electoral list leader Jordan Bardella. Photo: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP.

The fake TikTok profiles of purported influencers were made to look like young female relatives of Marine Le Pen, the RN party’s figurehead, promoting the far right.

They appeared to have been created using the facial features of Le Pen and her niece, Marion Marechal, who is also a far-right politician.

Jordan Bardella, RN president and candidate for the European elections, said the party was not behind the accounts.

“I call on the public authorities to be aware of this phenomenon and perhaps to think about legislation that might enable us to protect democratic debate from the proliferation of these deepfakes,” he said.

The elections in June will see more than 400 million eligible voters from 27 European Union countries pick 720 European Parliament members.

Bardella warned fake news could harm elections and democracy, speaking on the sidelines of a trip to the southwestern region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

He did not comment when asked whether the party would file a formal complaint about the videos.

“We will see what action we will take on this malicious use,” he said, stressing that there are “many, many” deepfakes of this type.

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EMMANUEL MACRON

Macron says ‘all European nationalists are hidden Brexiteers’

French President Emmanuel Macron said all European nationalists were "hidden Brexiteers" in an interview with the Economist published on Thursday, warning voters ahead of European elections next month.

Macron says 'all European nationalists are hidden Brexiteers'

“I say to Europeans: Wake up. Wake up! They are hidden Brexiteers. All European nationalists are hidden Brexiteers. It’s all the same lies,” he said.

“Make no mistake. If you entrust the keys to people who think like they do, there is no reason why Europe should become a great power,” he said.

“In a way it’s as if we were saying it’s not a problem if we entrust the bank to robbers. When they are around the table, they take Europe hostage.”

Macron gave the example of the French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party, which is now leading in opinion polls for the European contest, ahead of his own centrist alliance.

The RN “wanted to pull out of Europe, out of the euro, out of everything,” he said.

“Now it no longer says anything. It’s reaping the benefits of Europe, while wanting to destroy it without saying anything.

“And that’s true in every country,” he added.

He noted that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, had “a European approach” and had “supported the asylum and immigration pact”.

But “after that, the best way of building together is to have as few nationalists as possible”, he added.

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