Spoiler: Politics, and the private lives of politicians.
Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they're based in.
For more than a century, it was quite accepted in France that Presidents and male politicians could have mistresses, and no one would pry into their private lives.
But public attitudes are changing, and this is manifested in persistent curiosity about President Emmanuel Macron and his wife - who have now taken the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit to battle scurrilous allegations.
In this episode, ST's foreign editor Li Xueying hosts global affairs correspondent Jonathan Eyal, who takes his skewer to double standards, culture wars and conspiracy theories that are fuelling the change.
Highlights (click/tap above):
1:48 Paris in summer: A hotbed of scandals
4:11 Climate and political heat
7:01 Changing political privacy norms in France
9:29 The role of social media and disinformation
13:31 Macron’s political challenges and scandals
Read Jonathan Eyal’s article here: https://str.sg/cDua
Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR
Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x
Sign up for ST’s weekly Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/sfpz
Host: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg)
Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Executive producer: Ernest Luis
Follow Asian Insider on Fridays here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg
---
Follow more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
---
#STAsianInsider
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
