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‘I forgive you’: Kim Kardashian gives raw testimony at Paris robbery trial – National TenX News
Billionaire entrepreneur and reality television star Kim Kardashian testified in a packed Paris courthouse on Tuesday in the trial of the suspects accused of robbing her at gunpoint, taping her mouth, binding her hands and stealing millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry 9 years ago.
Kardashian, 44, told the jury she thought she was going to be sexually assaulted during the 2016 heist and that she was sure she would not survive the ordeal.
“I was certain that was the moment that he was going to rape me,” she told a Paris court Tuesday. “I absolutely did think I was going to die.”
Kim Kardashian arrives at the Palais de Justice on May 13, 2025, in Paris, France.
Edward Berthelot / Getty Images
Kim Kardashian recalls the incident
Kardashian, who was tearful at times, said she was getting ready for bed when she heard loud footsteps ascending the stairs to her hotel room, telling the court that at first she thought it was her sister Kourtney and a friend returning from a Paris Fashion Week event in the early hours of Oct. 3.
She recalled calling out to ask who was there before masked men entered the room.
“I obviously was very confused. I had to make sense of what was happening. I was just about to fall asleep, naked with a robe on,” she told the court.
“Honestly, a lot of terrorist attacks were happening in the world, and I thought it was some sort of terrorist attack, and I didn’t immediately understand it was for my jewelry.”
She said the suspects arrived at her hotel dressed as police officers and held the concierge hostage. He was dragged into her room, handcuffed, according to Kardashian.
One attacker began gesturing at her diamond ring.
“He said, ‘Ring! Ring!’ and he pointed to his hand,” she recalled.
Kardashian grabbed her phone to call the police, but didn’t know the French emergency number. She then tried to contact her sister and bodyguard, but was stopped by one of the masked assailants.
Kim Kardashian arrives at the Palais de Justice on May 13, 2025, in Paris, France.
Edward Berthelot / Getty Images
The men then threw her on the bed, zip-tied her hands and held a gun to her head, she testified.
“I have babies,” Kardashian said. “I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”
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At that moment, Kardashian said she remembers worrying about what her sister Kourtney might have come home to.
“I thought about my sister, thought she would walk in and see me shot dead and have that memory in her forever,” Kardashian said.
The men then dragged her to the bathroom, she said, where they taped her mouth and told her she would not be harmed as long as she did not make any noise.
She recalled being handled aggressively by the suspects, but said they did not hit her.
“I was not hit. No, I was grabbed, and dragged into the other room, and thrown onto the floor, but wasn’t hit, no,” she told the court.
“[The gun] was pointed towards me to get me to go from room to room, and it was pointed toward me on the bed at the end.”
The last time Kardashian saw the men who police say robbed her, she was locked in the bathroom while the suspects stole more than US$6 million in jewelry.
Her testimony marked a long-awaited moment in a trial that has captivated France and the wider world for almost a decade, and reignited discussions about the price of fame as well as the risks of living in the public eye.
Kardashian is one of the most recognizable figures on the planet, a billionaire fashion and beauty brand entrepreneur, a reality television icon, a producer and a lawyer in the making, with a following of more than 350 million on Instagram alone.
But the robbery shed light on the dark sides of excessive exposure, and how fame can leave high-profile figures vulnerable to attacks like the one she survived.
Police believe the suspects watched Kardashian’s social media profiles to build a broader picture of her movements and used images she’d shared with time stamps and geotags to track her whereabouts in the lead-up to the incident.
Kardashian was joined by her mother, Kris Jenner, in the heavily guarded Parisian courtroom. Dressed in black with $1.5 million worth of diamonds draped around her neck — according to a press release her team sent to journalists at the trial, reports The Associated Press — her voice quivered as she thanked the French authorities for allowing her to “speak my truth.”
This court sketch made on May 13, 2025, in Paris shows U.S. celebrity Kim Kardashian (R2), next to co-accused Aomar Ait Khedache (R), testifying before the Assize Court for the trial over the 2016 robbery that saw her robbed of millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry at gunpoint.
BENOIT PEYRUCQ / Getty Images
The accused and the aftermath
French prosecutors say the 12 suspects, who are between the ages of 60 and 70, were members of an old-school criminal ring.
Two assailants have admitted to being at the scene of the crime, and one claims he didn’t know who Kardashian was when the crime took place; another died before the trial, and a fourth was excused as a result of illness.
The group of criminals was dubbed “les papys braqueurs” — “the grandpa robbers” — by the French press, but Kardashian’s lawyers insist the men are far from a wholesome gaggle of senior citizens.
The suspects are facing charges of armed robbery, kidnapping and membership in a criminal gang, crimes in France that carry the possibility of life in prison.
After the men left the scene, Kardashian said she rubbed the tape binding her wrists against the bathroom sink to free her hands.
Her ankles still tied, she hopped downstairs to find her friend and stylist, Simone Harouche, who was staying in the room below.
Fearing the robbers could come back, Harouche and Kardashian fled to the balcony and hid in the bushes. While there, Kardashian phoned her mother.
Earlier in the trial, Harouche recalled hearing Kardashian scream from upstairs: “‘I need to live.’ That is what she kept on saying, ‘Take everything. I need to live’.”
Meanwhile, Harouche locked herself in a bathroom and texted Kardashian’s sister and bodyguard, writing, “Something is very wrong.”
Later, she heard Kardashian struggling down the stairs, her ankles still bound.
“She was beside herself,” Harouche said. “She just was screaming.”
Judge David De Pas asked Harouche whether she thought Kardashian invited the robbers by sharing images of herself on the internet adorned in expensive jewels — a line of questioning Harouche strongly rejected.
Kim Kardashian leaves the courthouse after testifying before the Assize Court for the trial over the 2016 robbery that saw her relieved of millions of dollars worth of jewelry at gunpoint in Paris, on May 13, 2025.
Alain JOCARD / Getty Images
“Just because a woman wears jewelry, that doesn’t make her a target,” she said. “That’s like saying that because a woman wears a short skirt that she deserves to be raped.”
Kardashian told the court that shortly after the Paris robbery, her Los Angeles home was broken into in what she believes was a copycat attack, adding that she can no longer sleep without guards and has between four and six at home at any given time.
“I started to get this phobia of going out,” Kardashian said. “This experience really changed everything for us.”
At the time of the Paris robbery, her bodyguard was staying in a different hotel.
“We assumed that if we were in a hotel, it was safe, it was secure,” Kardashian explained, adding that Paris, up until then, had always felt safe to her and that she would often walk the streets alone in the early hours of the morning to window shop or stop for a solo hot chocolate.
“It always felt really safe,” she said. “It was always a magical place.”
Kardashian received an apology letter from one of the suspects, and said she was grateful for the gesture.
“I do appreciate the letter, for sure. I forgive you for what has taken place, but it doesn’t change the feelings and the trauma and the fact that my life was forever changed, but I do appreciate the letter, thank you,” she concluded.
— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
World leaders are raising alarm after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on European allies in an effort to pressure Denmark into negotiations over Greenland.
The move is sparking protests across the Arctic and sharp rebukes from Europe and Canada.
On Saturday, thousands of people marched through snow and ice in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, chanting “Greenland is not for sale,” waving national flags.
Police described the demonstration as the largest they have ever seen in the city.
About 825 kilometres away, dozens of people rallied in Iqaluit, Nunavut, in a show of solidarity with Greenlanders.
“Greenland is owned by the Greenlandic people,” protesters chanted in Inuktut as they marched for an hour in freezing, windy conditions.
The protests came as Trump announced he would impose a 10 per cent import tax starting next month on goods from eight European countries.
These nations include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, because of their opposition to U.S. control of Greenland.
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The tariff would rise to 25 per cent on June 1 if no deal was reached for what Trump called the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
The president suggested the tariffs were leveraged to force talks over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that Trump says is vital to U.S. national security.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France stands firmly behind Greenland’s sovereignty and rejected the use of trade threats.
“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context,” Macron wrote on social media, adding that Europeans would respond “in a united and coordinated manner” if the measures are confirmed.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Greenland’s future is for Greenlanders and Denmark to decide.
“Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong,” Starmer said, adding the issue would be raised directly with the U.S. administration.
Bob Rae, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, also chimed in on Trump’s announcement.
The tariff threat could mark a significant rupture between the U.S. and its NATO allies.
Greenland already hosts the U.S.-run Pituffik Space Base under a 1951 defence agreement with Denmark, supporting missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance for the U.S. and NATO.
“There is no sign of the Trump war of aggression against Greenland and Denmark letting up. It is not about ‘security’ any more than Venezuela was about ‘narco-terrorism.’ They are both about seizing control and plunder.”
He further added, “No country, including my own, Canada, is safe or secure.”
The tariff threat could mark a significant rupture between the U.S. and its NATO allies.
Trump is expected to face questions about the proposed tariffs and Greenland later this week.
He is scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, alongside several European leaders he has threatened with tariffs.
— With files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Doha on Saturday as part of a push to attract foreign investment and deepen Canada’s economic partnerships beyond its traditional allies.
Carney’s visit comes on the heels of his visit to China and follows the recent presentation of a new federal investment budget aimed at positioning Canada as a stable, attractive destination for global capital.
In a news conference on Saturday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada is working to broaden its economic relationships as global trade patterns shift.
Qatar is viewed by Ottawa as a strategic partner, with officials pointing to the country’s significant investment capacity and growing influence on the global stage.
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“We need to reduce our dependence and increase our self-reliance to find a strategic path forward,” Champagne said.
“Engaging with the Middle East and China is necessary for Canada, just like our European partners have done,” Champagne added. “We buy more from the U.S.A. than anywhere else, but the trading climate right now is different.”
The conference highlighted Canada’s industrial capacity and trade advantages as key selling points for potential investors.
Champagne also said international engagement is critical as Canada works to raise its profile among global investors.
“We are one of the G7s with very big industries. We build cars, planes, ships, we have an abundance of energy, and we are the only one with free trade with all G7,” Champagne said. “With the way the world is changing, you better diversify, supply chain is changing and we need to adapt.”
Prime Minister Carney is expected to meet with senior Qatari officials, including Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as representatives of the Qatar Investment Authority.
His office says the talks will focus on expanding trade access and forging partnerships in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, energy and defence.
The visit comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the region, though officials say the schedule remains unchanged.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
The possibility of a forceful U.S. takeover of Greenland is raising many unprecedented questions — including how Canada, the European Union and NATO could respond or even retaliate against an ostensible ally.
A high-level meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and U.S. officials this week did not resolve the “fundamental disagreement” over the territory’s sovereignty but did set the stage for more talks. The White House made clear Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire to control Greenland has not changed after the meeting.
“He wants the United States to acquire Greenland. He thinks it’s in our best national security to do that,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Denmark and European allies are sending more troops to the territory in a show of force and to display a commitment to Arctic security.
Experts say there are other, non-military measures available in the event of a U.S. annexation or invasion of Greenland, or which could at least be threatened to try and get Trump to back down.
Whether those economic measures are actually used is another matter, those experts say.
“I think it remains highly unlikely that we’ll get to that point where we have to seriously discuss consequences for a U.S. move on Greenland,” said Otto Svendsen, an associate fellow with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“So it remains contingency planning for a highly unlikely event. That being said … Denmark would certainly do everything in its power to rally a very robust European response.”
Here’s what that could entail.
EU trade, tech disruptions?
Experts agree the biggest pressure points that can be used in the U.S. surround trade and technology.
The European Parliament’s trade committee is currently debating whether to postpone implementing the trade deal signed between Trump and the EU last summer to protest the threats against Greenland, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Many lawmakers have complained that the deal is lopsided, with the EU required to cut most import duties while the U.S. sticks to a broad 15 per cent tariff for European goods.
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An even bolder move would be triggering the EU’s anti-coercion instrument — known as the “trade bazooka” — that would allow the bloc to hit non-member nations with tariffs, trade restrictions, foreign investment bans, and other penalties if that country is found to be using coercive economic measures.
Although the regulation defines coercion as “measures affecting trade and investment,” Svendsen said it could feasibly be used in a diplomatic or territorial dispute as well.
“EU lawyers have proven themselves to be very creative in recent years,” he said.
However, David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said in an email that economic measures against the U.S. are unlikely “given the massive asymmetry in the defence and economic relationship between the U.S.” and other western nations.
“Any kind of sanction against the U.S. doesn’t make sense for the same reason they can impose tariffs on others: they have the power,” Perry added.
Target U.S. tech companies?
The likeliest — and potentially least harmful — scenario for retaliation in the event of an attack on Greenland, Svendsen said, would be fines or bans against U.S. tech companies like Google, Meta and X operating in Europe.
That’s because the Trump administration has taken particular focus on preventing what they call “attacks” on American companies by foreign governments seeking to regulate their online content or tax their revenues, which has led to calls on Canada, Britain and the EU to repeal laws like digital services taxes.
“I think that would be a really smart and targeted way to get to economic interests very close to the president, while minimizing the direct impact on the on the European economy,” Svendsen said, calling such a move “low-hanging fruit.”
He also compared a future U.S. tech platform ban to how Europe moved to wean itself off Russian gas after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“If you told anyone back then that Europe would basically rid itself of its dependence on Russian gas basically within a two-year period … that would have been considered completely impossible,” he said.
“Weaning the European economy off of U.S. tech would certainly be painful in the short term, but they’ve proven that they can get off those dependencies quickly if there is political will behind it in the past.”
A U.S. hostile takeover of Greenland would mean the “end” of the NATO alliance, experts and European leaders have said.
Trump himself has acknowledged it could be a “choice” between preserving the alliance or acquiring Greenland.
There is no provision within the NATO founding treaty that addresses the possibility of a NATO member taking territory from another, and how the alliance should respond to such an act.
A NATO spokesperson told Global News it wouldn’t “speculate on hypothetical scenarios” when asked how it could potentially act.
“None of this would be actionable in a NATO sense,” Perry said. “It’s an alliance that’s organized to bind the U.S. to European security, and revolves around the U.S. So there’s no scenario of NATO doing that to the U.S.”
Denmark and other European nations could move to reduce or close U.S. military bases in their countries as a possible response, experts say.
Balkan Devlen, a a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and director of its Transatlantic Program, said in an interview that a U.S. annexation of Greenland would force Canada to focus entirely on boosting its defences in the Arctic.
That may include trying to decouple from NORAD, the joint northern defence network with the U.S., in favour of a purely domestic Arctic command, he said — although that process would take years and require Canada to increase defence spending even further.
“Never mind five per cent (of GDP) — we will probably need to go like seven, eight, nine per cent on defence spending to be able to do anything of that sort,” he said. “It’s not even clear that we’ll be able to have enough people to do that.”
Devlen added that any retaliatory action, whether military or financial, needs to be targeted and proportionate to what the U.S. does.
“The problem with nuclear options is that once you use it, it’s gone,” he said. “And if it doesn’t do the damage or make the change of behaviour on the other party, you’ve basically lost a lot of leverage and you might actually sustain a lot more loss yourself.”
“Unacceptable’: Allies react to Trump Greenland tariff threats – National TenX News
Canada talks trade with Qatar as Carney touches down in Doha – National TenX News
How could Canada, EU, NATO respond to a U.S. takeover of Greenland? – National TenX News
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