Category Archives: France

Children crossing Channel from France exposed to teargas, report says

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NGO says rise in interventions has only increased danger as new data shows at least 15 children died in transit last year

Children and babies coming to the UK on small boats from northern France have been teargassed and subjected to tactics such as the discharge of rubber bullets and the slashing of dinghies with knives, according to a report.

The publication on Tuesday of We Want to Be Safe, by the French non-governmental organisation Project Play, came as the latest figures on daily crossings released by the UK government reached an all-time high of 19,982 for the first six months of the year, a 40% increase compared with the same period last year.

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France implements smoking ban at beaches and parks in step towards ‘tobacco-free generation’

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Under new rules anyone who lights up on a beach or in a public park from Sunday will be breaking the law

Anyone who lights up on a beach or in a public park in France will be breaking the law from Sunday under new rules aimed at protecting children from the dangers of passive smoking.

Bus shelters and areas in the immediate vicinity of libraries, swimming pools and schools will also be affected by the ban, which is coming into force one day after its publication in the official government gazette on Saturday.

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Briton accused of staging Disneyland mock wedding with child is charged with fraud offences in France

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Sex offender was arrested after alleged hiring of Disneyland Paris for fake ceremony with nine-year-old ‘bride’

A British sex offender accused of staging a mock wedding with a child at Disneyland Paris has been charged with money-laundering and fraud offences in France.

Jacky Jhaj, 39, who in 2016 was found guilty of sexual activity with two 15-year-olds, was arrested this weekend at Disneyland Paris after the theme park was hired for a private wedding. Staff are said to have called police when they saw that the “bride” in a wedding dress was a nine-year-old girl.

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Ex-French PM Dominique de Villepin launches party with view to 2027 presidential run

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Senior figure has set up Humanist France and is attracting support due to his criticisms of Israel’s actions in Gaza

The former French prime minister and foreign policy chief Dominique de Villepin has launched a political party called Humanist France, with a view to a possible bid for the French presidency in 2027.

De Villepin, who was prime minister under the rightwing president Jacques Chirac from 2005 to 2007, is best known for his dramatic speech to the United Nations in 2003, setting out France’s opposition to a US-led Iraq war and warning of the “incalculable consequences” of military action in the region.

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Giant statues to return to Notre Dame’s spire in latest stage of restoration

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Copper-coated figures will be hoisted on to cathedral’s reconstructed spire after devastating blaze of 2019

Sixteen giant statues are to be hoisted back on to the spire of Notre Dame in the latest step of the cathedral’s €700m (£600m) reconstruction after the devastating fire of 2019.

The copper-coated figures, each weighing almost 150kg, escaped the blaze because they were removed from the Parisian landmark for renovation just four days before flames consumed the roof and destroyed the spire.

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Weather tracker: US and Europe swelter in June heatwaves

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Monday and Tuesday likely to be the hottest days of the year so far in eastern US while temperatures rise in Europe

This summer’s first heatwave has developed across the eastern half of the United States with most places having recorded their hottest temperature of the year so far on Sunday, which will then probably be beaten on Monday and Tuesday.

High pressure across the eastern US has funnelled up hot air from southern parts of the the country, resulting in what is known as a heat dome, initially across central regions on Friday, before spreading eastwards over the weekend. The temperatures rose significantly on Saturday, with Huron regional airport in South Dakota recording a high of 39.4C (102.9F), 13C above the average high in June for the region.

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Arrests in France after scores report being attacked with syringes at street music festival

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Interior ministry says 145 people across the country reported being stabbed with needles at Fête de la Musique events

French police have detained 12 suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country’s annual street music festival, officials said on Sunday.

Millions of people took to the streets across France on Saturday evening for the Fête de la Musique, with authorities reporting “unprecedented crowds” in Paris. Before the party, posts on social media had called for women to be targeted during the festivities.

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Disneyland Paris calls in police over alleged fake wedding with child ‘bride’

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Police questioning two people as prosecutor says event at theme park was staged with girl aged about nine and actors

French police were questioning two people on Sunday after Disneyland Paris was hired for an alleged fake marriage ceremony involving a girl aged about nine.

The theme park complex outside Paris had been hired for what was presumed to be a genuine private wedding early on Saturday morning before opening hours.

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Pornhub and other adult sites back online in France after three-week protest

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Adult websites back online after court suspended decision requiring platforms based in the EU to verify users’ ages

Major adult websites Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube were back online in France Friday after a court suspended a decision requiring pornographic platforms based in the European Union to verify users’ ages.

The three platforms’ owner, Aylo, based in Cyprus, had made its websites unavailable in France in early June as a protest against the French decree. Failure to comply could have lead to sanctions including fines or the blocking of the websites.

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Macron lays out broad European offer for Iran to end war with Israel

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Proposal would cover uranium enrichment and ballistic missile programmes and aim to end terrorist funding

Europe is to make Iran a comprehensive offer to end its war with Israel that would include an Iranian move to zero uranium enrichment, restrictions on its ballistic missile programme and an end to Tehran’s funding of terrorist groups, Emmanuel Macron has said.

The proposals are surprisingly broad, spanning a range of complex issues beyond Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, and are likely to complicate any solution unless an interim agreement can be agreed.

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Paris airshow in subdued mood after deadly Air India crash

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Industry professionals gather at civil and military aircraft event further overshadowed by war between Israel and Iran

Every second summer more than 100,000 aviation industry professionals gather in Paris for an airshow – a flying display crossed with a vast conference. The mood at the latest gathering this week was more subdued than usual, after the deadly crash a week ago of a London-bound Air India flight in Ahmedabad.

Investigators have recovered the black box from the plane to try to work out the cause of the disaster. The aircraft maker Boeing, and GE Aerospace, which made the 787 Dreamliner’s engines, both cancelled many of their media-facing events out of respect for the families of the 241 passengers and crew who died, as well as at least 30 more people on the ground who were killed.

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Employees at firm that supplied grape-pickers for champagne on trial for human trafficking

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Police found 57 people allegedly held in fetid conditions in case known as ‘grape harvest of shame’

Three employees of a firm that provided workers to pick grapes for champagne has gone on trial for human trafficking, in one of the biggest labour scandals to hit France’s exclusive sparkling wine industry.

The employees of the firm supplying grape pickers for the champagne harvest in 2023 were charged with human trafficking and exploiting seasonal workers, submitting vulnerable people to undignified housing conditions, and employing foreign nationals without authorisation. The firm itself was also on trial for moral responsibility in the case.

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Weather tracker: France reels from deadly thunderstorms and lightning

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Cold drop, upper-air trough and heat dome combine to create severe weather and 85mm hailstone

Severe thunderstorms swept across France last Friday, killing one person and injuring another. Two systems were involved, prompting orange weather warnings: the first came from the west via Brittany and hit the north of the country, and the second arrived via Spain and affected south-west France.

More than 30,000 lightning strikes were recorded between midnight on Friday and early Saturday. Eure, north of Paris, was worst hit with 4,326 strikes. Strong winds lashed Normandy – Rouen recorded a 76mph (123km)/h) gust that broke the 64mph record set in 2019. Hail affected several areas, leading to infrastructure and crop damage.

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Macron criticises Trump’s threats to take over Greenland during visit

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French president is first foreign head of state to visit Arctic territory since US president made comments

Emmanuel Macron has criticised Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland as he became the first foreign head of state to visit the vast, mineral-rich Arctic territory since the US president began making explicit threats to annex it.

“I don’t think that’s what allies do,” Macron said as he arrived in the Danish autonomous territory for a highly symbolic visit aimed at conveying “France’s and the EU’s solidarity” with Greenland on his way to a summit of G7 leaders in Canada.

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Nicolas Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour over corruption conviction

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Former French president loses country’s highest state award despite Emmanuel Macron’s opposition to move

The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of his Legion of Honour, the country’s highest distinction, after his conviction for corruption was confirmed last year, according to an official decree published on Sunday.

The conservative one-term president has been beset by legal problems since leaving office in 2012. In December France’s highest court upheld his conviction for influence peddling and corruption, ordering him to wear an electronic ankle tag for 12 months.

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French court releases New Caledonia independence leader detained over deadly riots

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Christian Tein, who denies accusations of instigating violence in the French territory in 2024, will remain under judicial supervision

A French court freed an independence leader from the overseas territory of New Caledonia who had been detained for a year over deadly riots in 2024.

Christian Tein, who is indigenous Kanak , was charged and incarcerated over the rioting on the Pacific archipelago in May last year that left more than a dozen dead.

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Gisèle Pelicot settles claim for invasion of privacy against French magazine

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Paris Match agrees to pay €40,000 to two charities after publishing photos of Pelicot

Gisèle Pelicot, who survived almost a decade of rape involving dozens of men after she was drugged by her ex-husband, has settled an invasion of privacy case with the French magazine Paris Match.

Pelicot, who became a feminist hero after she decided to waive her right to anonymity in the trial of her former husband and 50 other men last year, took legal action against the publication in April.

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‘We did nothing wrong’: Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of kidnapping yacht crew

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Swedish activist says ‘12 peaceful volunteers’ did not break laws during attempt to bring symbolic aid shipment to Gaza

Hours after being deported from Israel, Greta Thunberg accused the country of kidnapping her and her fellow activists in international waters, adding that she had refused to sign a document stating that she had entered Israel illegally.

Speaking to reporters at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, the Swedish campaigner stressed that she and others on a Gaza-bound ship intercepted by Israel on Monday had simply been attempting to bring much-needed aid to the war-torn territory.

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France to use UK drama Adolescence to teach teenagers about toxic masculinity

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French education ministry follows Britain and Netherlands in incorporating Netflix hit into school curriculums

France has followed the UK and the Netherlands in allowing the Netflix drama Adolescence to be used in secondary schools as part of efforts to teach teenagers about toxic masculinity and online harms.

The French education ministry will offer schools five classes based on excerpts from the critically acclaimed mini-series, which has provoked a global debate about the impact on young boys of misogynistic content online and on social media.

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Weather tracker: Storms make way for summer heat in Europe

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Florence in Italy could hit 39C as hot weather sweeps continent, while parts of South Africa brace for snow

The severe thunderstorms that have been lashing parts of Europe over recent days are expected to give way to high temperatures this week. Several regions could climb to 10C (50F) above seasonal norms, with Italy braced for the full force of the heat. Florence in Tuscany is forecast to soar to a sweltering 39C on Thursday and across the weekend.

Germany, France and Belgium will also face hot weather from Wednesday, with widespread highs at least 9C above the June average. Many other parts of Europe are forecast to experience temperatures 5-7C above normal. This is the result of a high-pressure system creating a heat dome over the region, whereby sinking air compresses and warms as it descends, trapping heat near the surface.

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