Diane de Vignemont

Epstein’s birthday book and the girls with no names On the central cruelty of the ‘The First Fifty Years’ albums

With the spotlight once again on Trump and Clinton’s friendship with Epstein and the impact of the scandal on their political careers, we should (once again) ask: why does the media coverage focus on the men instead of the girls?
@prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/united...

Thanks Jenée! Just sent you a pitch 😊

Epstein’s birthday book and the girls with no names On the central cruelty of the ‘The First Fifty Years’ albums

New Epstein emails that mention Donald Trump have been released by House Democrats. As @diane2v.bsky.social wrote in September, the people often missing from the political debate are Epstein’s victims.

Even Before the Heist, the Louvre Had Been Robbed The crime shocked France, but earlier cuts and neglect had already stripped museums of the means to protect the country's heritage

“The Louvre has not simply been robbed. It has been abandoned.” @Diane2v.bsky.social writes for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

A Plane Crashed in the Desert. Thirty-Five Years Later, It Would Help Take Down Nicolas Sarkozy The French presidential hopeful used clemency for the perpetrators of the UTA 772 bombing to secure campaign funding from Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi

For @newlinesmag.bsky.social, I argue that to truly understand why the Libyan affair led to Nicolas Sarkozy's conviction for criminal conspiracy, we must go back to a 1989 terror attack, and to the families who have carried its weight ever since.
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/a-...

Even Before the Heist, the Louvre Had Been Robbed The crime shocked France, but earlier cuts and neglect had already stripped museums of the means to protect the country's heritage

The Louvre burglars may have escaped with eight glittering relics of empire, but the larger theft has been unfolding for years, and exposes the slow erosion of France's state-funded culture. My latest, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/eve...

Even Before the Heist, the Louvre Had Been Robbed The crime shocked France, but earlier cuts and neglect had already stripped museums of the means to protect the country's heritage

The Louvre is no longer the emblem of continuity Emmanuel Macron once invoked; it is the mirror of state fragility, writes @Diane2v.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

Even Before the Heist, the Louvre Had Been Robbed The crime shocked France, but earlier cuts and neglect had already stripped museums of the means to protect the country's heritage

NEW: The Louvre is no longer the emblem of continuity Emmanuel Macron once invoked; it is the mirror of state fragility, writes @diane2v.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.

newlinesmag.com/argument/eve...

A Plane Crashed in the Desert. Thirty-Five Years Later, It Would Help Take Down Nicolas Sarkozy The French presidential hopeful used clemency for the perpetrators of the UTA 772 bombing to secure campaign funding from Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi

Nicolas Sarkozy is beginning his five-year prison term today. Read @diane2v.bsky.social's look into the former French president's ties to Libya, and the plane crash that helped bring Sarkozy down, in @newlinesmag.bsky.social

newlinesmag.com/spotlight/a-...

How the Prince Andrew saga overshadowed Virginia Giuffre's tragic life Amid the royal fallout, we should not forget Jeffrey Epstein’s victims

How the Prince Andrew saga overshadowed Virginia Giuffre's tragic life

Amid the royal fallout, we should not forget Jeffrey Epstein’s victims

🖊️ @RMCunliffe.bsky.social

If you speak French, it's worth listening to @mediapart.fr's @fabricearfi.bsky.social on why our coverage of Sarkozy's imprisonment is so problematic bsky.app/profile/cces...

A Plane Crashed in the Desert. Thirty-Five Years Later, It Would Help Take Down Nicolas Sarkozy The French presidential hopeful used clemency for the perpetrators of the UTA 772 bombing to secure campaign funding from Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi

For @newlinesmag.bsky.social, I argue that to truly understand why the Libyan affair led to Nicolas Sarkozy's conviction for criminal conspiracy, we must go back to a 1989 terror attack, and to the families who have carried its weight ever since.
newlinesmag.com/spotlight/a-...

Epstein’s birthday book and the girls with no names On the central cruelty of the ‘The First Fifty Years’ albums

With the spotlight on Prince Andrew’s alleged conduct, it’s worth re-reading @diane2v.bsky.social’s take on the Epstein birthday book—why does the media coverage focus on the men instead of the girls?

Emmanuel Macron juge « normal, sur le plan humain », d’avoir reçu Nicolas Sarkozy à l’Elysée, quatre jours avant son incarcération

C'était ça, ou recevoir les familles des 54 victimes françaises de l'attentat contre le DC-10 d'UTA organisé en 1989 par le terroriste que les ex-collaborateurs et coaccusés de Sarkozy ont rencontré secrètement.

Gisèle Pelicot’s pedagogy of justice A retrial in the landmark French abuse case is a lesson in how rape survivors are retraumatised in court

A retrial in the landmark French abuse case of Gisèle Pelicot is a lesson in how rape survivors are retraumatised in court, writes @diane2v.bsky.social.

After a short hiatus, The Backlash is back! With reads on Gaza, Xi’s “patriarchal turn”, the manosphere, “juvenile illiberalism”, the anti-abortion playbook in the UK, and Virginia Guiffre. Links to stuff by @emmahaslett.bsky.social, @diane2v.bsky.social and others
open.substack.com/pub/thebackl...

bsky.app/profile/fabr...

Merci (encore) !!!

merci Marc !

my latest, for Jacobin Magazine

The Pelicot Trial Exposes France’s Jury Problem Last year’s Pelicot trial was the biggest rape case in French history, drawing huge public attention. But only an appeal last week saw the case heard before a jury, allowing ordinary citizens to pass ...

In France, 88% of rape cases are tried without a peer jury.
The trial of Gisèle Pelicot's 51 rapists exposed what’s lost when justice becomes an expert affair — and what happens when ordinary people finally return to the courtroom.
My latest, for @jacobinmag.bsky.social jacobin.com/2025/10/peli...

The Pelicot Trial Exposes France’s Jury Problem Last year’s Pelicot trial was the biggest rape case in French history, drawing huge public attention. But only an appeal last week saw the case heard before a jury, allowing ordinary citizens to pass ...

In France, 88% of rape cases are tried without a peer jury.
The trial of Gisèle Pelicot's 51 rapists exposed what’s lost when justice becomes an expert affair — and what happens when ordinary people finally return to the courtroom.
My latest, for @jacobinmag.bsky.social jacobin.com/2025/10/peli...

Gisèle Pelicot’s pedagogy of justice A retrial in the landmark French abuse case is a lesson in how rape survivors are retraumatised in court

Husamettin Dogan appealed his conviction for the rape of Gisèle Pelicot. His sentence was increased by one year—“a recognition that denial itself is a form of cruelty,” writes @diane2v.bsky.social.

Gisèle Pelicot’s pedagogy of justice A retrial in the landmark French abuse case is a lesson in how rape survivors are retraumatised in court

In my latest for @prospectmagazine.co.uk, I returned to the Pelicot rape trial.
Gisèle Pelicot's lawyers didn't just win a case—they challenged the legal playbook, setting a crucial potential precedent against the retraumatisation of rape survivors. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/europe...

The second time around can we possibly hope for signs of an effort to limit “secondary victimization?” @diane2v.bsky.social Merci Gisèle

Such an important article.

Gisèle Pelicot returns to court Plus: can London Centric revive local journalism?

In today’s Lightbulb, Prospect’s free daily newsletter, @diane2v.bsky.social reports on an appeal in the Gisèle Pelicot case.

Plus: @arusbridger.bsky.social and @lionelbarber.bsky.social speak to @jim.londoncentric.media about his media start-up @londoncentric.media.

bsky.app/profile/fabr...

A Plane Crashed in the Desert. Thirty-Five Years Later, It Would Help Take Down Nicolas Sarkozy The French presidential hopeful used clemency for the perpetrators of the UTA 772 bombing to secure campaign funding from Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi

My latest, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
To truly understand why the Libyan affair will have Sarkozy sleeping in jail for criminal conspiracy, we must go back to a 1989 terror attack, and to the families who have carried its weight ever since. newlinesmag.com/spotlight/a-...

Gisèle Pelicot’s pedagogy of justice A retrial in the landmark French abuse case is a lesson in how rape survivors are retraumatised in court

A retrial in the landmark French abuse case of Gisèle Pelicot is a lesson in how rape survivors are retraumatised in court, writes @diane2v.bsky.social.