Category Archives: France

‘It can kill you in seconds’: the deadly algae on Brittany’s beaches

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Activists say stinking sludge is linked to nitrates in fertilisers from intensive farming

André Ollivro stepped carefully down the grassy banks of an estuary in the bay of Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, not far from his beachfront cabin. The pungent smell of rotting eggs wafting from decomposing seaweed made him stop and put on his gas mask. It was a strange sight in what is usually a tourist hotspot.

“You can’t be too careful,” said the 74-year-old former gas technician, who is leading the fight against what has come to be known as France’s coastal “killer slime”.

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France threatens to veto further Brexit extension

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French foreign minister decries ‘worrying’ lack of progress as EU diplomats express frustration

The French government has threatened to veto a further Brexit extension due to the “worrying” lack of progress in the recent talks, as EU diplomats expressed their frustration at being caught up in game-playing by the British government.

In a sign of rising exasperation, the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, highlighted the lack of realistic proposals being put forward by Downing Street as an alternative to the Irish backstop.

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Thysia Huisman describes alleged rape by Jean-Luc Brunel

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Ex-model is one of three women accusing the model scout and friend of Jeffrey Epstein

Thysia Huisman had just turned 18 when, late one evening in September 1991, she arrived before the door of an imposing apartment building on avenue Hoche in central Paris carrying a small backpack and three photographs from her portfolio.

A young would-be model from Leiden in the Netherlands, she was impressed, but also alarmed. “It was very grand,” she says. “A vast, grand apartment, right by the Arc de Triomphe. Fancy furniture, paintings on the walls. But it was his home.”

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The soul of Perpignan: how a Gypsy community halted the bulldozers

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The French city wanted to demolish large portions of its St Jacques neighbourhood as part of a wider development plan. It had not reckoned with its residents

Photography by Jesco Denzel

Never schedule a demolition in St Jacques for the afternoon. Nothing much stirs in the morning in this mainly Gypsy neighbourhood of Perpignan, south-west France, but by 4pm on 27 July last year, when the diggers turned up at Place du Puig, the locals were up – and full of fire.

Sixty of them, furious at what they saw as mystifying recent demolitions in other parts of the neighbourhood, and worried about a conspiracy to force the Gypsy community out of the heart of Perpignan, refused to let the workman pull another lever.

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Iran to free seven crew members of seized British-flagged tanker

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Move comes as president gives Europe two-month deadline to save nuclear deal

Iran has said it will free seven crew members of a British-flagged tanker seized in the strait of Hormuz in July, as the country’s president gave Europe a two-month deadline to save its nuclear deal.

The seven, who are part of a 23-member crew comprising Indian, Russian, Latvia and Filipino nationals, were allowed to leave the Stena Impero tanker on humanitarian grounds and will be able to leave Iran soon, Iranian state television reported. The vessel’s owner said it had yet to receive any official confirmation of the release date.

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Macron hears police officer refuse to help woman in danger

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French president’s visit to hotline was supposed to showcase crackdown on domestic violence

It was supposed to be a showcase of the French government’s new crackdown on domestic violence.

But instead, when the French president, Emmanuel Macron, visited the national domestic violence hotline and listened in to the morning’s calls, he heard in real time how a local police officer was refusing to help a woman in danger.

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UK, US and France may be complicit in Yemen war crimes – UN report

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Panel lists 160 key actors in Yemen war who could face charges, adding to pressure on UK to end Saudi arms sales

Britain, the US and France may be complicit in war crimes in Yemen by arming and providing support to a Saudi-led coalition that starves civilians as a war tactic, a United Nations report has said.

A UN panel of experts has for the first time compiled a list of 160 military officers and politicians who could face war crimes charges, including from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Houthi rebel movement and Yemeni government military forces. A secret list of those most likely to be complicit has been sent to the UN.

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Iran voices optimism over nuclear deal after talks with France

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Tehran says gap is closing on views after phone conversation between Macron and Rouhani

Iran and France have moved closer in their views on the future of Tehran’s nuclear deal with the west after talks between the countries’ presidents, the Iranian government has said.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, spoke for two hours by telephone, a spokesman said, as Paris continued its diplomatic initiative to salvage the deal, which has been at risk of unravelling since the US withdrew last year.

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Channel smugglers cram 30 migrants into boats made for six

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Children tell charity workers of being knocked into the water as attempts to reach UK from France increase

Smugglers are cramming up to 30 people on to small boats to cross the Channel from France to the UK, and children have been among those who have recently fallen overboard, campaigners have revealed.

As crossing attempts surge at the close of summer amid rumours that Brexit will mean tighter border restrictions, criminal gangs are loading inflatable boats up to five times their capacity. Previously, people smugglers would put about eight passengers on each vessel.

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One dead and eight wounded after suspected knife attack in France

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Police arrest suspect after stabbings in Villeurbanne, near Lyon, by man wielding skewer and knife

A man wielding a skewer and knife went on the rampage in the French city of Lyon on Saturday, leaving a 19-year-old man dead and eight others injured, three of them critically.

An eyewitness in Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, described the attack as frenzied. “There was a man at the 57 [bus stop] who started striking out with a knife in all directions,” said a young girl whose top was stained with blood.

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Gove watches no-deal Brexit practice run in Port of Calais

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New systems to ensure smooth transit of goods are tested in France before UK’s exit from EU

The Port of Calais has staged a no-deal Brexit rehearsal to test new systems ahead of the UK’s anticipated departure from the EU on 31 October. Michael Gove, the minister in charge of no-deal planning, witnessed the practice run during a visit to France on Friday afternoon.

Related: Rebel MPs confident they have time to stop no-deal Brexit

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Westminster looks at giving France money to curb Channel crossings

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Priti Patel discusses increasing financial support amid hike in attempted crossings

The UK government is considering increasing the amount it pays France to help deal with people trying to make the perilous Channel crossing to England using small boats, Paris has said.

The proposal was discussed during talks on Thursday between the British home secretary, Priti Patel, and her French counterpart, Christophe Castaner, that were prompted by an increase in the number of such attempted crossings over the summer.

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Macron and Bolsonaro’s war of words over Amazon fires, aid and their wives – video report

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Tensions rose between France and Brazil after the French president, Emmanuel Macron, tweeted that the fires burning in the Amazon amounted to an international crisis and should be made a top priority at the G7 summit. Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president, reacted by accusing Macron of having a ‘colonialist mentality’. The diplomatic row between the leaders escalated when Bolsonaro expressed approval of a Facebook post implying that Macron's wife, Brigitte Macron, was not as good-looking as his own wife

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G7 summit: last rites of old order as Trump’s theater looms next year

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Leaders put on a show of common endeavor with awareness that meeting could be a lot worse next year when Trump will be circus master

If next year’s G7 summit turns out to be a branding event at a Trump golf resort in Florida, with Vladimir Putin as de-facto co-chair, the old guard among America’s allies will look back on this year’s meeting in Biarritz with some nostalgia.

Related: Trump defends bid to host G7 at his Miami resort: 'I don't care about money'

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French climate activists protest as Macron attends G7 summit

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Marchers carrying inverted portraits of president demand more action on climate crisis

Hundreds of climate activists have marched in south-western France carrying portraits of President Emmanuel Macron that they had illegally removed from town halls and which police had been seeking to recover amid a judicial crackdown.

As the G7 leaders met in Biarritz, demonstrators from a nationwide civil disobedience movement demanding more action on the climate emergency appeared in nearby Bayonne brandishing dozens of portraits the state accuses them of stealing from civic buildings.

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G7: Scott Morrison to push for action against online terrorist content

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Australia’s PM flies into Biarritz, where he will have talks with world leaders – and a chat with Donald Trump

Scott Morrison will try to push countries further on taking action against terrorist and violent extremist material on social media during a series of meetings on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Australia’s prime minister arrived in the French surfing town of Biarritz on Saturday night (early Sunday AEST) for the high-powered international forum.

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Macron hopes to convince G7 leaders to halt trade war and heal divisions

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French president Emmanuel Macron has said he hopes to convince world leaders to pull back from trade war and heal growing divisions at the G7 summit in Biarritz, despite signs that will be a daunting task.

Related: Boris Johnson prepares for Biarritz balancing act with Donald Trump

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Biarritz in lockdown as G7 summit descends on French resort

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More than 13,000 police arrive in town with authorities saying any unrest will not be tolerated

The French seaside resort of Biarritz is under lockdown by security forces ahead of the G7 summit, with more than 13,000 police as well as a special magistrates court set up to try anyone committing offences.

The historic centre of the Basque town was emptied of tourists on Friday before the arrival of leaders of the world’s advanced economies including the US president, Donald Trump, and the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, who will hold three days of talks on global issues from the climate emergency to trade wars.

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Paris prosecutor opens child rape inquiry linked to Epstein case

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Investigation to focus on potential crimes against citizens in France and abroad

The chief Paris prosecutor has announced that he is opening an investigation into the rape of minors and a series of other charges linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case.

A statement issued on Friday by the office of Rémy Heitz said the decision to open a preliminary investigation was based on “elements transmitted” to his office and “exchanges with American authorities”.

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French wine-makers hope for G7 detente with Trump over tariffs

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Trump has threatened high tariffs on French wine in response to Macron’s tech tax

French wine-makers are increasingly concerned about Donald Trump’s threats to introduce high tariffs on French wine in retaliation for Emmanuel Macron’s tax on global technology companies, as world leaders gather for the Biarritz G7 summit this weekend.

A new front in Trump’s international trade wars could open up across France’s vineyards, damaging the livelihoods and jobs of small producers, if the US president decides to substantially increase tariffs on French wine as punishment for what he has called the “foolishness” of the new levy on the annual revenues of technology companies.

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