Paris officials are reportedly planning to sue Fox News for airing now-retracted reports on supposed “no-go” Muslim zones in France, the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, announced Tuesday.
“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,” Hidalgo said in an interview with CNN.
“The image of Paris has been prejudiced, and the honor of Paris has been prejudiced. And I think in the great discussion of truth, everyone is to play its role. And we’re going to have to be realistic and put things as they are,” she said.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour pressed Hidalgo to name one such news group that would be included in the lawsuit, prompting the Paris mayor to answer: “Fox News, that’s the name.”
Fox News Executive Vice President Michael Clemente responded, saying “we empathize with the citizens of France as they go through a healing process and return to everyday life. However, we find the mayor’s comments regarding a lawsuit misplaced.”
So-called Muslim “no-go zones” are areas where Islam’s Sharia allegedly is the law of the land and local authorities have no power.
Appearing on Fox News recently, national security analyst Steve Emerson said the zones are “sort of amorphous, they’re not contiguous necessarily, but they’re sort of safe havens. And they’re places where the governments, like France, Britain, Sweden, Germany — they don’t exercise any sovereignty, so you basically have zones where Sharia courts are set up, where Muslim density is very intense, where police don’t go in.
“There are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in,” he said.
But European authorities, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, say Muslim “no-go zones” don’t exist.
“When I heard this, frankly, I choked on my porridge, and I thought it must be April Fools Day,” Cameron said in response to Emerson’s remarks.
Hidalgo also responded negatively to Fox News’ “no-go zone” reports, saying on Twitter that she was “of course shocked by Fox’s stigmatizing error.”
Fox News has since apologized for Emerson’s comments, as well as similar remarks by others who appeared on the network.
“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,” Fox News’ Julie Banderas said. “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.”
A Fox News spokesperson said “it is unlikely” Emerson would be invited again to appear on the network, the Washington Post reported.
Anthony L. Fargo, director of the Center for International Media Law and Policy Studies, told Poynter that it’s highly unlikely the Paris lawsuit would be successful.
“First, it’s unclear whether French courts have any jurisdiction over Fox News, an American news network. Second, it’s unlikely the case would be successful in the United States because governmental bodies — like cities — can’t sue for defamation,” Poynter reported.
Fargo added: “So it sounds like a symbolic gesture to me, if I had to guess.”
The details of the Paris lawsuit mentioned are not yet known.
This post has been updated to reflect comments by Fox News’ Michael Clemente.
