Behind the Façades in France: What expats and the mainstream media (French and American alike) fail to notice (or fail to tell you) about French attitudes, principles, values, and official positions…
The French radio channel Sud Radio asked Philippe Karsenty to discuss with Alexis Poulin the subject of Emmanuel Macron's visit to the White House and his meeting with Donald Trump regarding the Ukraine war (20:39-43:00).
Previously, Alexis Poulin chuckled as he mentioned the Candace Owens book about Macron's wife Brigitte (who she claims in Becoming Brigitte to be a male), with the book Devenir Brigitte disappearing from all French sales outlets, online and other, from one day to the next (18:05).
Guerre en Ukraine, Poutine / Trump-Macron : que retenir de la réunion ? - Poulin Sans Réserve
Sud Radio
Avec Arnaud Benedetti, rédacteur en chef de la Revue politique et parlementaire / Philippe Karsenty, porte parole du comité Trump France / Alain Juillet, ancien directeur du renseignement au sein de la direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure (DGSE)
Retrouvez Alexis Poulin sans réserve tous les vendredis de 12h à 13h sur #SudRadio.
In the wake of the "scandal" of Elon Musk — and now, at CPAC, Steve Bannon — accused of using a Nazi salute, numerous people have gone online and found (and shared) examples of leftists, politicians and VIPs alike — and even offhand non-political citizens, like the Pope, Paul McCartney, and a Village People singer — making gestures with an arm that could easily be interpreted as them about to shout "Heil Hitler." (Read notably the Times of India article, Everybody is a Nazi — Defending Elon Musk, social media users show Taylor Swift, Obama and Superman giving 'Nazi Salute'.)
Which brings us to an incredible France24report in which salt-smelling fact-checkers (sic) seek to debunk the fact that Democrat politicians
(alone, unlike rightist politicians) are doing anything of the kind (merci à Sylvain).
In France24's Truth Or Fake segment, one Sharon and Vedika Bahl go on to report about "a host of Democratic politicans [who] are being falsely accused online of doing Nazi salutes."
A photomontage of four Democratic politicians – Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris – has racked up over 150 million views on X, claiming to show them making what has been likened to a "Nazi salute", similar to the arm gesture Elon Musk was criticised for at Donald Trump’s inauguration. These images are stripped of their context and are all taken as screenshots from wider speeches, with no deliberate gestures. Vedika Bahl debunks clip by clip in this episode of Truth or Fake.
#elonmusk#barackobama#fakenews
Snopes joins the scuffle with a strange title that is a statement already providing a judgment: No, These Politicians Did Not Make the Same Gesture as Elon Musk. Traditionally, a Snopes title is an objectively-sounding question that it proceeds to (try to) answer in the text ("Did So-and-So Really Do/Say Such-and-Such?", the very best example in this case being… Did Musk Give 'Nazi Salute' at Trump's 2025 Inauguration Rally? [before weaseling out of giving a negative, or any kind of, answer]). Here, Snopes not only defends the Democrats, it goes beyond that, it makes a point to point out that These Politicians Did Not Make the Same Gesture as Elon Musk (!), suggesting the latter's gesture, by contrast — whether fascist or other, they conveniently refrain from saying — was indeed shameful and that he was indeed guilty.
However, the images being shared present each politician in a misleading
manner — they were waving their hands and speaking on different issues
that had nothing to do with Nazism.
Guess what, Snopes. Guess what, France24. Yuuuuuge spoiler: That is precisely what we are saying about Elon Musk (not to mention the War Room's Bannon).
few fascists ever, few Nazis ever gave the fascist/Nazi salute from
the heart, as Elon Musk did. Whether in Italy, in Spain, in Portugal, or
in Germany, the arm went straight up from the side as the individual is
standing still. Aye, there is the rub: the salute is traditionally
formal, given as a soldier standing still by an "inferior" to a
"superior" at the outset of an event or only when asked (when commanded)
to do so.
Thus we see lines of Germans, in uniform or civilian attire, all doing the Führergruß
together, mechanically, at exactly the same time, while shouting the same words (Heil Hitler or Sieg Heil) in unison; the fact that nobody
in the audience returned, or even recognized, Musk's salute, much less thought of returning it, is also evidence of elevated Drama Queenery.
It is not a salute the "superior" gives to his "inferiors" (except as a
return), certainly not informally in the middle of a speech, emotional
or otherwise, as he (or she) prances about from one side of the stage to
the other, like a Mexican jumping bean.
But luckily, when you take a look at France24's YouTube comments, the overwhelming amount of readers are smart enough to notice the double standards: just about every single comment about "Gruppenführer Musk" (LOL) eviscerates the France24 report. (The final comment is the best…)
So these four images are taken out of context, but you're not taking his heartfelt gesture out of contacts, which he admitted seconds after throwing his arm in the air? What a class Act.
Umm…those gestures look like the same kind of thing Elon did. So basically you’re saying that we shouldn’t take democrats out of context, but republicans, please take them out of context. Elon said, “my heart goes out to you” when he made that gesture.
Musk did it twice right after saying "my heart goes out to you all", yet media leaves that out conveniently. Talk about "out of context". Love how "context" can be important, when it serves a narrative.
So if Musk does it it's a salute and when others move their arm it's out of context. Just admit you're looking for every little thing, trying to say something negative about Elon Musk. And president Trump for that matter.
So pathetic. Just accept that president Trump is doing good work and hope that Musk can save the US some money. God knows they need it.
