The founder of France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and MEP Rima Hassan were reportedly photographed on a luxury yacht, hand in hand, drinking a glass of champagne. This is what Internet users claim who share a cover from the tabloid Gala supposed to reveal their new romantic relationship. This is a fake one.
Published on: 05/05/2026 - 18:25Modified on: 05/05/2026 - 18:27
While Jean-Luc Mélenchon formalized his candidacy for the 2027 French presidential election on Sunday, May 3, the leader of France Insoumise would also have made the front page of Gala, claim Internet users who share the alleged cover on Facebook. The celebrity tabloid would have shown Jean-Luc Mélenchon on a luxurious yacht in the Mediterranean, sharing a glass of champagne with the rebellious European MP, Rima Hassan. The photo would reveal a new romantic relationship between Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Rima Hassan, to the detriment of French MP Sophia Chikirou, sometimes presented - according to a rumor denied by the rebellious leader - as his partner.
The photo would put Jean-Luc Mélenchon at odds with his position as leader of a radical left party: "accomplices as never before" with Rima Hassan, Jean-Luc Mélenchon would therefore not disdain luxury in his private life.
Only this Gala front page is fake: it was never published by the tabloid.
A photomontage
It is possible to find the real last issue of Gala on the tabloid's website: we see that its subject has nothing to do with Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Rima Hassan. Published on April 30 – and not April 28 as indicated on the false front page – this issue indeed displays a photo of Prince William and Kate Middleton on the cover. In addition to its subject, this cover presents several differences in presentation with the dummy front page.
The Gala logo is surrounded by a white outline in the real cover, a detail absent from the fake cover. The real cover also displays at the bottom right the address of the Gala website, "www.gala.fr". This information is not present in the fake cover.
The two covers also display different barcode references: "ESN 12-62-604" for the false front page, "M 03457-1716H" for the real number. A sign of sloppy photomontage, the mention of the euro currency is missing from the price of the magazine displayed on the false cover.
Fake headlines that can mislead the media
As the Observers editorial team has noted in previous articles, false French media headlines are regularly published on social networks to damage the reputation of political figures.
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Recently, on May 4, a false front page from the tabloid Closer was relayed by the continuous news channel Cnews. Generated by AI, the fake cover showed the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, and the President of France Terre d'Asile, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, side by side in an accomplice posture. Pascal Praud, star host of CNews, had to apologize to the President of the National Assembly, who announced that she would contact Arcom for this error.
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