Rider was reportedly in the fast lane when he was hit from behind by a motorbike
A 30-year-old man has been killed after being hit by a motorbike while riding his e-scooter on a French motorway.
It is the third death linked to the increasingly popular mode of transport in the Paris region in four months, and has sparked further safety concerns and renewed calls for their regulation.
Continue reading...Work to protect children from risks of poisoning to be completed before schools open
Workers have started decontaminating schools in Paris that were found to have unsafe levels of lead following the blaze at the Notre Dame Cathedral, as part of efforts to protect children from risks of poisoning.
Related: Notre Dame fire: activists launch lawsuit over 'toxic fallout'
Continue reading...From walking the dog at midnight to a dip in the canal, I tested the heatwave plan as the city reached 42.6C. Here’s how it went
Last week, as Paris faced down its hottest day since records began, the city authorities declared their readiness. Since the notorious heatwave of 2003 that killed thousands across France, the capital has put in place a heat strategy: cooling areas, a checking system for vulnerable people, shady parks kept open all night.
Could these strategies actually work against a predicted record temperature of 42C (107.6F)? A study released this week shows that the world has never warmed faster than now. By 2050, the average temperature in the hottest month in Paris will rise by six degrees. This heatwave might be the new normal.
Continue reading...Highs in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium exceeded for second time in 24 hours
Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have recorded all-time national temperature highs for the second day running and Paris has had its hottest day ever as the second dangerous heatwave of the summer sears western Europe.
The extreme temperatures follow a similar heatwave last month that made it the hottest June on record. Scientists say the climate crisis is making summer heatwaves five times more likely and significantly more intense.
Continue reading...Users of Bois de Vincennes claim peace is being disturbed by voyeurs and exhibitionists
Naturists in a Paris park have complained that voyeurs and exhibitionists are spoiling their naked enjoyment.
The nudists say they are being pestered in an area of the city’s Bois de Vincennes where for the last two years they have been allowed to shed their clothes.
Continue reading...This year’s Bastille Day celebrations in France featured a French inventor hovering above Paris on a jet-powered flyboard. The former jetskiing champion and military reservist Franky Zapata clutched a rifle as he soared above the Champs-Élysées on his board, which can reach speeds of up to 118mph (190km/h)
Continue reading...Exhibition of archive photographs shows how strip of land around Paris, established in 1844 as a defence initiative, became home to 40,000 people
The Zone at the Gates of Paris is on display at Croisière, at the Rencontres d’Arles, until 22 September
All images courtesy Galerie Lumière des Roses
President accused of ‘flogging family silver’, as communists and Sarkozy MPs join forces
Emmanuel Macron’s plan for the biggest wave of French privatisations in a decade is under threat after opposition politicians took the unusual step of joining ranks to push for a referendum on the sale of Paris airports.
The centrist French president wants to sell the state’s controlling stake in Aéroports de Paris, the profitable operator of Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, which are used by more than 100 million passengers each year. It would be among the biggest privatisation operations in French history, alongside Macron’s plans to sell other stakes in the national lottery as well as the gas and power group ENGIE.
Continue reading...Led by the archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, priests and canons wearing hard hats for safety attended mass on 15 June 2019, the first since the devastating April blaze that damaged the cathedral’s roof
Continue reading...€72m makeover will create mile-long stretch of pools, fountains and parks
A garden stretches for a mile, free of cars with one of the world’s most recognisable monuments at its centre. Crossing the river on a tree-lined and lawned bridge, the roar of traffic has been replaced by the sound of water from fountains.
Such is the vision for the Eiffel Tower, which is at the centre of a major makeover project to transform one of Paris’s most visited districts.
Continue reading...The biggest Women’s World Cup in history is kicking off at the Parc des Princes on Friday but in the city there is not the air of anticipation you would expect
With the biggest Women’s World Cup in history kicking off at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Friday, the head of the local organising committee was bullish in his response to criticism over the lack of atmosphere and marketing in the French capital.
“Depends what you’re expecting from posters and setting up an event in the city?” shot back Erwin Le Prevost. “The means we have available to us are becoming bigger in every competition thanks to Fifa support. It’s a Women’s World Cup by Fifa, the main aim is to fill the stadiums and to have the biggest TV audience possible.”
Continue reading...‘March of the mutilated’ calls for ban on use of explosive grenades and rubber bullets
About 200 gilets jaunes have staged a “march of the mutilated” through central Paris. Among them were people seriously injured in demonstrations since the movement started last November.
Several had lost an eye or limb in clashes with riot police. The marchers called for an end to “repressive ultra-violence” and a ban on police use of explosive grenades and rubber bullets.
Continue reading...The Paris Saint-Germain star denies claims in a police document that he assaulted a woman last month
The Brazilian footballer Neymar has been accused of raping a woman in a hotel in Paris last month, according to a police document in Brazil.
The player’s father called the accusation by the unidentified woman “a setup” against his son.
Continue reading...A zipline ride from the Paris landmark is providing an opportunity to speed across the Paris skyline at 90km (56 miles) per hour. The temporary zipline is an initiative by French mineral water brand Perrier to celebrate the French Open. It also coincides with the 130th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower. From 29 May to 2 June, members of the public will be selected through an online draw on social media for a chance to take the 800-metre journey, which ends at the École Militaire
Continue reading...Firefighters at scene as intruder seen dangling near top of tower
The Eiffel Tower has been evacuated after a man tried to scale it.
The man could be seen dangling just below the third and highest level of the structure. A rescuer dressed in red could be seen above him.
Continue reading...Designs from architects around world also suggest glass, crystal and metal spires
An architecture firm has proposed replacing the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral with a swimming pool, as France prepares to launch an international competition to restore the fire-damaged gothic edifice to its former glory.
After the roof and spire of Notre Dame were damaged in a fire watched worldwide in April, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he was open to a “contemporary gesture” in rebuilding it “more beautiful than before”, and the prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, called for a new spire “adapted to the techniques and the challenges of our era”.
Continue reading...High lead levels after cathedral fire have led to concerns from environmental groups
Paris authorities have warned of very high lead levels on the ground immediately surrounding the fire-damaged Notre Dame cathedral but insisted there was no danger from breathing the air, after environmental groups likened the site to “toxic waste”.
The latter are preparing to step up pressure this week over the possible pollution danger from toxic metal particles from the cathedral fire. Campaign groups will hold a press conference on Friday to warn of their concerns about the danger from the combustion of lead in last month’s blaze which destroyed the Gothic cathedral’s roof, spreading lead-laden dust.
Continue reading...Three firefighters in custody after a woman made a complaint to police
Police are questioning three Paris firefighters in connection with the alleged rape of a woman at their station.
The firefighters, who were not on duty at the time, allegedly brought “at least” three women back to their Plaisance fire station in the city’s 14th arrondissement at 4am on Saturday after an evening of drinking, according to reports.
Continue reading...After 30 years at the highest level of fashion, Virginie Viard makes debut as solo designer
“Complacency,” designer Karl Lagerfeld once said, “is the beginning of the end.”
Three months after his death, this spirit lives on at Chanel. The house has sprung out of mourning and back into action, transforming the Grand Palais in Paris into a Belle Époque railway station for the first collection by Lagerfeld’s successor, Virginie Viard.
Continue reading...Worst violence occurs in Paris but trouble also flares in Berlin, Gothenburg and St Petersburg
Police and protesters have clashed, sometimes violently, in cities across Europe as tens of thousands of trade unionists, anti-capitalists and other demonstrators marched in traditional May Day rallies.
The worst confrontations were in Paris, where riot police fired teargas and stingball grenades as a 40,000-strong crowd, included gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesters and an estimated 2,000 masked and hooded “black bloc” activists, marched from Montparnasse station to Place d’Italie.
Continue reading...