Bonjour! I’m Diane de Vignemont, a freelance journalist based in Paris.

I write about politics, history, and gender-based violence for various publications, both in English (New Lines Magazine, Prospect Magazine, Jacobin Magazine) and in French (Libération, L’Humanité Magazine, Arrêt sur images, Causette Magazine, Têtu· Magazine, Retronews, France-Amérique Magazine…)

As a political and culture reporter, I am frequently interviewed by outlets like Democracy Now!, the BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, etc.

Lately, I’ve also been investigating the historical roots of obstetric and gynaecological violence, and two of my pieces on reproductive rights were shortlisted for the 2025 FOLIO Eddie and Ozzie Awards.

I am a graduate of SciencesPo Paris, and hold a masters’ degree in contemporary history from the University of Oxford.

Check out my latest work, and send me tips here. I’m always open to commissions.

Highlights

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Liberty, Equality, Sorority — Finding Sisterhood at the Pelicot Rape Trial

New Lines Magazine, November 27, 2024

Gisèle Pelicot’s decision to make public the horrific details of her abuse has transformed her into a reluctant icon, galvanizing a movement of collective reckoning. The mass rape trial taking place in Avignon is not just a pursuit of justice; it is a crucible of solidarity and sisterhood. Read

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From Church Bells to Whistles, the Minneapolis Protests Sound a Lot Like the French Resistance

New Lines Magazine, January 30, 2026

In Minneapolis, whistles warn of ICE agents’ approach. How far do they echo the church bells that guided resistance in occupied France? History does not repeat, but in the details from the ground in Minnesota and the work of historians of wartime Europe, parallels emerge that may be instructive. Read

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Epstein’s birthday book and the girls with no names

Prospect Magazine, September 17, 2025

In all the noise about the (in)famous signatories of Jeffrey Epstein’s “birthday book,” we lost sight of what this book actually is. It is not a meme or a punchline or a political prop, but an artefact of the misogyny and abuse that very real girls—now women—lived through. Read

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The French Left Is United, Not for the First Time

New Lines Magazine, July 5, 2024

Just a few days after Macron’s explosive dissolution of the National Assembly, 25 parties on the French left chose unity, forming the New Popular Front to counter the risk of a far-right majority. But what, if anything, can be learned from the first Popular Front of the 1930s? Read

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At Your Cervix — The Medical Instrument Behind 135 Years of Women’s Pain

New Lines Magazine, May 24, 2024

In 1889, French surgeon Samuel Pozzi, inspired by an American Civil War-era bullet extractor, invented an instrument to ease gynecological exams and provide better care for women. Despite causing debilitating pain, it is still used worldwide 135 years later. Read

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