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Paris Mayor To Fox News Over Muslim No-Go Zones: ‘I’ll See You In Court’

By Bradley Ryder
Published on: 13:30 PST, Jan 20, 2015

After firing off a stream of comments deemed inflammatory by the French community, worshipers of Islam and a number of liberals in the United States, Paris Mayor Anne Hidlago outlined her plans to sue Fox News. Apparently, the city’s chief executive says claims by Fox of the existence of Muslim no-go zones have defamed Paris and put the city in a negative light.

Hidalgo spoke with CNN‘s Christiane Amanpour Tuesday about filing a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel over its news coverage and rhetoric regarding the Paris terror attacks at Charlie Hebdo magazine, a kosher grocery, and an urban café. All told, 17 people died, along with three terrorists. When asked why she plans to sue the conservative news network, the French mayor said comments by Fox “insulted” her city.

“When we’re insulted, and when we’ve had an image, then I think we’ll have to sue, I think we’ll have to go to court, in order to have these words removed. The image of Paris has been prejudiced, and the honor of Paris has been prejudiced.”

The Parisian mayor’s announcement of her plans to sue Fox News was widely lauded by readers and sources in the Liberal media establishment. A writer with Crooks and Liars shared their input about Mayor Anne Hidlago’s possibly taking legal action to sanction the American-based network for suggesting Paris enables Muslim no-go zones.

“I don’t know the laws well enough to discuss the merits of an actual suit, but this keeps the heat on Fox News for continually reporting a racist and bogus story about Muslim “no-go zones” to fearmonger the issue. I also love the fact that she’s part of the Socialist party in France. That will drive Rupert Murdoch crazy.

“I do hope she names Bobby Jindal in the suit somehow.”

This past weekend, Steve Emerson, a self-described terrorism expert and guest on Fox News, said that in regions of Europe — with an emphasis on the English city of Birmingham — there exists Muslim-designated areas where non-Muslims are not welcomed and dare not enter.

Although Emerson later apologized about his claims on the existence of a no-go zone in Birmingham, the statements were echoed by other anchors and Fox News guests.

In the wake of a public outcry, Fox News anchors offered apologies over the weekend. And just hours after a guest on Fox claimed that 69 percent of Muslims support the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), host Julie Banderas offered an apology on behalf of Fox News for its role in broadcasting untrue statements of the recent Paris shootings.

“A correction now: Over the course of this last week, we have made some regrettable errors on air regarding the Muslim population in Europe, particularly with regard to England and France. Now this applies especially to discussions of so-called ‘no-go zones,’ areas where non-Muslims allegedly aren’t allowed in and police supposedly won’t go. To be clear, there is no formal designation of these zones in either country and no credible information to support the assertion there are specific areas in these countries that exclude individuals based solely on their religion. There are certainly areas of high crime in Europe, as there are in the United States and other countries. Where police and visitors, and with caution, we deeply regret the errors and apologize to anyone and all who may have taken offense, including the people of France and in England.”

The reference to Jindal, the GOP governor of Louisiana, comes on the heels of his statements in London Monday about the existence of no-go zones set up by Muslim immigrants who allegedly seek to form their own enclaves and autonomous neighborhoods. Jindal remained unapologetic in the wake of Fox News‘ apology and retraction. The Republican governor, who many say is contemplating a run for the White House in the 2016 elections, said that immigrants to Western countries are trying to erode the values of freedom and democracy, and their efforts of division should be barred at all costs.

“I knew that by speaking the truth we were going to make people upset. The huge issue, the big issue in non-assimilation is the fact that you have people that want to come to our country but not adopt our values, not adopt our language and in some cases want to set apart their own enclaves and hold on to their own values,” said Jindal. “I think that’s dangerous.”

It’s unknown if Paris Mayor Anne Hidlago will sue Fox News, but some experts are mixed over the viability of a defamation claim. Some say an entity cannot defame another, and similar cases in the past have been dismissed by U.S. judges. Others say in all probability, the French government can only pursue a legal action in its own court. However, the downside is that Fox has limited exposure in the country.

[Image via: Wikimedia Commons]

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