Police in Paris fired water cannon and teargas at gilet jaunes (yellow vest) protesters on the ninth consecutive weekend of demonstrations. The protests began as a protest against a new eco-tax on petrol and diesel, but has grown to encompass a wide range of demands including giving people a greater say in policy via citizens’ referenda.
Category Archives: France
Footage shows moments after Paris bakery explosion – video
Two firefighters have died and 47 people have been injured after an explosion at a bakery in Paris. Ten of them are in a critical condition. A gas leak is believed to be the cause of the blast and fire in the 9th arrondissement on Saturday morning
Continue reading...Paris bakery ‘gas explosion’ kills two
Gas leak believed to be cause of blast and fire in capital on morning of gilets jaunes rally
Two firefighters have died in a massive explosion caused by a “pocket of gas” in a six-storey building in Paris.
Another 47 people were injured, 10 of them critically, including a third fire officer, in the blast in the 9th arrondissement of the capital on Saturday morning.
Continue reading...Daughter of Italian mafia boss names Paris restaurant Corleone
Lucia Riina, youngest child of Salvatore ‘Totò’ Riina, names establishment after crime family’s home town
The daughter of a notorious Sicilian mafia boss has opened a restaurant near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris called Corleone.
Lucia Riina, a painter and the youngest child of the late “boss of bosses” Salvatore “Totò” Riina, named the establishment after her father’s home town and the crime family in Francis Ford Coppola’s award-winning Godfather trilogy of films.
Continue reading...Ex-boxer apologises for hitting police officer during ‘gilets jaunes’ protest – video
A former French boxing champion who was filmed punching police officers during a gilets jaunes protest has said in a video that he had 'boiled over' after being teargassed alongside his wife on his eighth Saturday protest
Continue reading...€114,000 raised for boxer who punched police at gilets jaunes protest
French politicians express outrage after public fundraiser for Christophe Dettinger
A former French boxing champion who was filmed punching police officers during a gilets jaunes protest has received more than €100,000 in public donations online, angering the government.
The online fundraising platform Leetchi received €114,000 for Christophe Dettinger before the site closed the donation page after politicians expressed outrage on Tuesday. Leetchi said the funds were intended only for legal fees.
Continue reading...Iran behind two assassinations in Netherlands – minister
Foreign minister says there is ‘strong’ evidence Iran directed killings of two Dutch nationals
Iran has been accused by the Dutch government of directing two political assassinations in the Netherlands, triggering EU sanctions against Tehran’s military intelligence service.
The two murders are alleged to have taken place in broad daylight in 2015 in Almere, a city east of Amsterdam, and in 2017 on a street close to the Dutch foreign ministry in The Hague.
Continue reading...French PM backs new measures to ‘protect’ protests from rioters
Edouard Philippe says government considering football hooligan-style register
The French prime minister has called for tough new measures to punish those hijacking legitimate protests by looting, burning and vandalising.
Speaking after the weekend’s violence at gilets jaunes (yellow vests) demonstrations, Edouard Philippe said tough new public order measures were necessary to protect those wishing to exercise their fundamental right to protest from the “scandalous” behaviour of thugs and vandals – who, he added, should be prosecuted and made to pay for the damage they cause.
Continue reading...French author, 50, says women over 50 are too old to love
Yann Moix, a prize-winning novelist, says women of same age are ‘invisible’ to him
A popular French author and television presenter has caused outrage after claiming he was “incapable” of loving a woman aged over 50.
Yann Moix, 50, told a glossy magazine: “Come on now, let’s not exaggerate! That’s not possible … too, too old.”
Continue reading...Violence during gilets jaunes protest prompts two investigations – video
A former professional boxer who was filmed allegedly attacking a police officer during gilets jaunes (yellow vests) demonstrations in Paris at the weekend is in custody after turning himself in to authorities. A separate investigation has been launched after a police chief was seen on video assaulting a protester in the southern city of Toulon.
Continue reading...Archbishop of Lyon goes on trial accused of helping cover up abuse
Philippe Barbarin could face up to three years in jail if convicted of failing to report priest who abused Scouts
The highest-profile Catholic cleric to be caught up in a paedophile scandal in France is going on trial charged with failing to report a priest who abused Scouts in the 1980s and 90s.
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, is accused along with five others from his diocese of helping cover up abuse in one of the parishes in the area.
Continue reading...Gilets jaunes protesters turn out in French cities for eighth week
Police estimate 25,000 people protested in Paris, Toulouse, Lyon and other cities
France’s gilets jaunes movement has continued its national action for an eighth successive weekend with demonstrations across the country.
In Paris, there were violent clashes between police and protesters attempting to reach the Assemblée Nationale, the lower house of parliament on Saturday. Riot police forced demonstrators back using teargas after coming under a hail of projectiles.
Continue reading...France steps up efforts to prevent Channel crossings
French authorities to improve cooperation with UK and increase coastal surveillance
The French authorities have set out plans to prevent people in small boats risking the dangerous Channel crossing to England.
Measures being taken include improved cooperation between law enforcement agencies and more surveillance and security on beaches along the northern French coastline.
Continue reading...Eight people airlifted from broken funfair ride in France
Helicopter scrambled after revellers spend New Year’s Eve stuck in mid-air in Rennes
Eight people were rescued from a funfair ride by helicopter after becoming stuck 50 metres high in the air on New Year’s Eve.
The group spent most of Monday night atop the 52-metre metal arm called BomberMaxxx after a new part broke and blocked the mechanics of the device in Rennes, in Brittany in north-west France.
Continue reading...Arc de Triomphe lights up for new year in Paris – video
The French capital welcomed 2019 with a laser show and fireworks watched by thousands of people on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Continue reading...Macron: It’s Unclear Who in Iran Ordered French Bomb Plot
Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran attend a rally in Villepinte, near Paris, France, June 30, 2018. A foiled attack had targeted the meeting.
France points finger at Iran over bomb plot, seizes assets
France said on Tuesday there was no doubt Iran's intelligence ministry was behind a June plot to attack an exiled opposition group's rally outside Paris and it seized assets belonging to Tehran's intelligence services and two Iranian nationals. The hardening of relations between Paris and Tehran could have far-reaching consequences for Iran as President Hassan Rouhani's government looks to European capitals to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal after the United States pulled out and reimposed tough sanctions on Iran.
Paris knife attack: Seven injured, four seriously
Sunday night there was a knife attack in Paris which left seven people injured, four of them seriously. The attacker, who had a knife and a metal bar, was interrupted by a group of people playing a French lawn-bowling game called petanque which uses hollow metal balls.
Watch Michelle Obama Dance to Jay-Z With Beyonce’s Mom
Michelle Obama danced joyously to Jay-Z 's "On to the Next One" on Sunday during the rapper's joint concert with Beyonc in Paris, France. The former First Lady joined Beyonc's mother, Tina Knowles Lawson, in the front row and even getting a quick onstage smile from Jay-Z.
Emmanuel Macron
The news last week was full of extraordinary items. I've selected just a few from a three-day period, adding a few comments.