PARIS (AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday (Sept 2) faced accusations from opponents of trampling on press freedom after he personally berated a prominent reporter over an article the head of state described as "unprofessional and mean".

Macron sternly rebuked Le Figaro journalist Georges Malbrunot, a specialist on the Middle East, after his press conference on Tuesday at the end of a two-day visit to Beirut.