Category Archives: France

Louvre’s decision to move Mona Lisa is a misguided act of snobbery

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Crowds give life to the Paris museum and the painting is a silent, compelling mystery at the heart of the hubbub

What a wonderful headache for a museum to have. The Louvre in Paris gets so many visitors it is taking drastic measures to cope, which include moving its most famous treasure to a dedicated space where fans can visit without entering the main museum at all. It will no longer suck the oxygen from other art.

Nearly 9 million visitors a year stream through the Louvre and it’s believed 80% of them are looking for Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, better known as La Gioconde, better still as the Mona Lisa.

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Mexicans make Emilia Pérez parody poking fun at French stereotypes

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Spoof fires back at supposed inauthenticity of Oscar-tipped screen musical with a song-and-dance tale of boulangeries at war

The war of words between Mexico and France over trans gangster musical Emilia Pérez has heated up even more after the release of a spoof film called Johanne Sacreblu poking fun at French stereotypes.

Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard and which is up for the best picture Oscar along with a best actress nomination for its star Karla Sofia Gascón, is the story of a cartel boss who hires a lawyer (played by Zoe Saldana) to enable a gender transition, and has attracted much criticism in Mexico, where it is supposedly set.

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France seeks UN resolution naming Rwanda as backer of M23 rebels in DRC

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M23’s lightning advance into east DRC being supported by up to 4,000 Rwandan troops, say UN officials

France is seeking western support for a UN security council resolution that names Rwanda as being behind the M23 rebel group attacks inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the surprise weekend seizure of parts of Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC.

UN officials said as many as 4,000 Rwandan troops were escorting the M23 rebels. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, on Sunday called on “the Rwandan defence forces to stop supporting the M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the DRC”. It was his clearest statement of Rwandan responsibility for much of the violence.

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No 10 accused of trying not to upset French by renaming HMS Agincourt

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Decision to change name of new submarine to HMS Achilles is ‘craven political correctness’, says ex-navy officer

Downing Street has defended the government’s decision to change the name of a new attack submarine from HMS Agincourt to HMS Achilles, after critics accused ministers of trying not to upset the French.

A No 10 spokesperson called the decision to change the planned name of the vessel “appropriate and fitting”, despite criticism that ministers were being “craven”. Officials say the name Achilles had been chosen in part to pay tribute to an earlier ship of the same name.

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Open (your wallet) wide: Australians pay more for dental care than most OECD countries

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Australia ranks well when it comes to total dental care expenditure. But a closer look at the numbers reveals that trips to the dentist are a luxury many people can’t afford

Australia spent $11.1bn on dental care in 2021–2022, ranking it sixth out of 31 OECD countries for per capita expenditure.

At first glance, that statistic seems pretty good. Dig deeper? Not so much.

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Search begins for UK sailor after yacht found ‘eviscerated’ off French coast

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The missing 73-year-old set off his distress beacon during stormy weather on Saturday afternoon

A 73-year-old British sailor is lost at sea and his yacht has been found “eviscerated” off the French coast in stormy weather.

A French air force helicopter was dispatched to find the man after he set off his distress beacon at 3pm on Saturday, approximately 50 miles (80km) west of Lacanau in south-west France.

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French man on death row in Indonesia expected to return home in two weeks, minister says

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Serge Atlaoui is expected to be transferred after an agreement was reached with the government in Paris, Yusril Ihza Mahendra says

A French man who has been on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for alleged drug offences is expected to return home in weeks after an Indonesian minister said an agreement would be signed on Friday to allow his transfer.

Serge Atlaoui is expected to return to France on 5 or 6 February, the senior minister for law and human rights affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, told Reuters on Friday.

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Visiting leaky, crowded Louvre is ‘physical ordeal’, museum’s boss says

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In leaked memo to culture minister, Laurence des Cars sounds alarm over state of Paris art gallery

Visiting the Louvre has become a “physical ordeal” as the throngs of tourists, leaks and substandard catering take a toll on the world’s most-visited museum, its director has said in a leaked memo.

The document, written by Laurence des Cars for the French culture minister, Rachida Dati, but leaked to the media on Thursday, sounded the alarm over the state of the Paris museum.

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UK family awarded thousands over stale croissants and ‘mouldy’ hotel in France

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Family complained food was ‘uneatable’ and room was dirty and smelly at four-star Club Med hotel in Provence

A British family who claimed they “went home miserable” from a luxury French hotel after they were given stale croissants and a smelly room have won thousands of pounds in damages.

Damen Bennion, 52, told his children “Daddy would get things sorted” when they arrived at their holiday in Provence and found the four-star hotel did not meet their expectations.

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One of France’s most wanted alleged drug lords extradited from Morocco

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Félix ‘the Cat’ Bingui due to appear in Marseille court on multiple charges including money laundering

One of France’s most wanted suspected drug traffickers was due in court in Marseille after his extradition from Morocco.

Félix Bingui, known as “the Cat” and reportedly head of the notorious Yoda clan, was arrested in Casablanca last March.

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France needs ‘clearer’ rape laws that include consent, report finds

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MPs say the need for consent-based law was highlighted again by trial of 51 men over abuse of Gisèle Pelicot

France should update its rape law to add a clear reference to consent, a parliamentary report has found, months after French society was shaken by the trial of 51 men over the repeated drugging and rape of Gisèle Pelicot.

The report, to be presented on Tuesday, said action must be taken urgently to update the law. “Almost 10 years after the start of the #MeToo movement, and as the [Pelicot] trial showed once again, the fight against rape culture must be a priority: the fight against rape culture needs a law that is clearer,” it found.

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David Hockney unveils unseen work for major Paris retrospective

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Exclusive: William Blake-inspired artwork to feature alongside new paintings in artist’s biggest exhibition

A previously unseen painting by David Hockney has been revealed for the first time before its unveiling in the biggest exhibition to be devoted to one of Britain’s foremost living artists.

Titled After Blake: Less is Known than People Think, the work will be among hundreds of previously unknown Hockneys that are to be displayed alongside his famous masterpieces at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris from April.

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Champagne makers say sales losing fizz amid global gloom and changing habits

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Shipments fell nearly 10% last year with French firms blaming economic and political anxiety, and cheaper drinks

Changing habits and the gloomy state of the world are taking the fizz out of French champagne sales, the producers’ association has said, with shipments down nearly 10% last year.

Consumers in crucial markets such as the US and home country France cut down on the luxury beverage, as economic and political anxiety dampened the party mood.

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Iran knows my son is innocent, says mother of French man held in Evin jail

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Olivier Grondeau was arrested in 2022 and has accused Iran of using him for ‘political blackmail’ against France

The mother of a French traveller detained in Iran for two years has said authorities “know he is innocent” but continue to hold him in the country’s notorious Evin prison.

Olivier Grondeau, 33, was arrested from his hotel room in Shiraz, in the south of Iran, on 12 October 2022, just weeks into the Woman, Life, Freedom anti-government protests that engulfed the country. The writer, poet and bookseller was in the country as part of a world tour.

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Brad Pitt reacts to ‘awful’ scammers who fooled French woman using his pictures

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Anne, 53, was scammed out of hundreds of thousands after believing she was in a long-term relationship with the actor

A spokesperson for Brad Pitt has addressed the viral story about a French woman who believed she was in a long-term relationship with the actor and was scammed out of €830,000 ($855,000, £700,000) by someone posing as him.

“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities,” the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by E! News. “But this is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.”

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France must stand firm in face of ‘new world disorder’ embodied by Musk, says PM

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François Bayrou said France must look global powers ‘face on’ in reference to Donald Trump’s return to office

The French prime minister has said the country must stand firm in the face of figures such as Elon Musk, who represents a “new world disorder”.

In his first policy speech to parliament on Tuesday, François Bayrou, a veteran centrist, said there was “a new world disorder, that threatens all equilibrium and all rules of defence. There are a certain number of people who embody this without complex, such as Elon Musk.”

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French TV show pulled after ridicule of woman who fell for AI Brad Pitt

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Anne, 53, faces wave of online mockery for believing she was in relationship with actor and paying scammer €830k

A French woman who believed she was in a long-term romantic relationship with Brad Pitt and was scammed into paying €830,000 (£700,000) to help him with medical treatment faced such a wave of online mockery that a TV programme about her has been withdrawn.

The interior designer, named as Anne, 53, has been targeted on social media and even a satirical sketch on France’s biggest radio breakfast show after giving an interview about the case to the Seven to Eight programme on the TF1 channel on Sunday.

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Business confidence falling in UK and eurozone, recruiters warn

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Fears over UK growth and political uncertainty in France and Germany making firms reluctant to hire staff

Recruitment companies have warned about declining confidence across Europe and the UK, as political uncertainty adds to concerns about economic growth.

The FTSE 250 recruiter PageGroup said on Monday that profits had dropped by nearly a quarter in Germany and 17% in France during the last three months of 2024, compared with the same period in 2023. Its UK profits fell by 14%, as companies grew more nervous about taking on new staff.

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Tram collision in Strasbourg leaves dozens injured

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Rescue services treat 100 more people for shock or stress after collision in tunnel leading to central train station

Two trams collided in Strasbourg in eastern France on Saturday, causing dozens of injuries, though none critical, authorities said. The accident took place during the afternoon in a tunnel leading to the city’s central train station.

An additional 100 people, though uninjured, were assessed for shock or stress, said René Cellier, director of the Bas-Rhin fire and rescue service. Emergency services deployed 130 firefighters, 50 rescue vehicles and established a wide safety perimeter.

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Protesters in Calais condemn UK policies to stop Channel crossings

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Alliance of groups from across France call for measures to make crossings safer after 77 deaths recorded in 2024

More than 70 organisations from across France willcome together on Saturday to protest in Calais about UK policies to try to stop people crossing the Channel.

At least 77 people died trying to cross the Channel in 2024, the highest number since crossings began in 2018. Non-governmental organisations that monitor these deaths believe the total figure last year was even higher, with 89 deaths at the UK-French border of people attempting to reach the UK.

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