FACT CHECK: Does X Image Show Marine Le Pen Crying After Losing French Election?
An image shared on X purports to show French National Rally Party politician Marine Le Pen crying after losing the country’s recent parliamentary election.
Who does NOT feel sorry for Marine Le Pen’s Fascist Crying Episode, after losing the France Parliamentary Election?
✋🏾✋🏾 pic.twitter.com/sMf3fCxdoC— The Divided States Of America (@TheDividedStat3) July 8, 2024
Verdict: False
The image is derived from video of a 2017 radio appearance in which Le Pen appeared on a morning show. In the original video, which has been uploaded to YouTube by Europe 1, Le Pen can be seen laughing during her appearance on the program.
Fact Check:
Le Pen is being investigated by the Paris prosecutor’s office over “allegations of accepting a financial loan, misappropriation of property, fraud and forgery,” according to The Associated Press. The allegations relate to Le Pen’s “campaign during the 2022 presidential election,” the outlet reported.
The X image, viewed over 100 times as of writing, purports to show Le Pen crying after losing France’s recent parliamentary election. “Who does NOT feel sorry for Marine Le Pen’s Fascist Crying Episode, after losing the France Parliamentary Election?” the image’s caption reads.
The claim is false. The image is derived from a 2017 radio appearance in which Le Pen was a guest on host Thomas Sotto’s morning show. In the original video, which has been uploaded to YouTube by Europe 1, Le Pen can be seen laughing during her appearance on the program.
“In March 2017, Marine Le Pen was the guest of Thomas Sotto’s morning show. The president of the National Rally laughed out loud at her imitations, particularly that of Jean-Jacques Bourdin,” a translation of the video’s description indicates. The video’s thumbnail also appears to match the image shared via the X post.
Likewise, Check Your Fact did find the X image referenced in any credible news reports about Le Pen or the recent French parliamentary election. In fact, the opposite is true. On July 9, Misbar reported it had traced the image of Le Pen back to the video of her 2017 radio appearance on Europe 1.
Additionally, the claim is neither referenced on the website for France’s National Rally Party nor Le Pen’s verified social media accounts. (RELATED: Viral X Image Does Not Show Protests Against Le Pen In France)
Check Your Fact has contacted Le Pen for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.
