Paris Mayor Wants To Sue Fox News Channel

The mayor of Paris said yesterday that she plans to sue Fox News Channel over its Muslim "no-go zones" claims, which she charged were insults directed at the French capital in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour of the "no-go zones" claims: "The image of Paris has been prejudiced and the honor of Paris has been prejudiced."

Fox apologized on air several times on Saturday (January 17th) for statements broadcast on the cable channel that said there are "no-go zones" in some European countries, including France and England, where sharia courts have been set up and the government's basically not in charge, and where non-Muslims and police don't go.

Reuters cited legal experts as saying it would be tough for such a lawsuit to succeed because of strong protections in the U.S. for media against defamation and libel claims. There'd likely be an easier path under French "insult" laws, but a judgment might be hard to enforce, since a 2010 American law makes foreign libel judgments that conflict with U.S. law unenforceable in U.S. courts.

Fox News' executive vice president of news, Michael Clemente, said yesterday, "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."