Category Archives: France

French actor Alain Delon to file legal complaint against son over ‘media outburst’

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Anthony Delon told a magazine his father was finding it hard to accept his frail state of health

The actor Alain Delon will file a legal complaint against his son over “a media outburst” in France’s most prominent magazine, his lawyer has said.

In an interview published on Thursday, Anthony Delon told Paris Match that his father was finding it hard to accept his frail state of health, adding that there were “major risks” that the 88-year-old had celebrated “his last Christmas”.

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UK does not cooperate sufficiently over small boat crossings, says French body

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Independent French auditors say UK information on people crossing Channel is ‘very patchy’

The UK is not coordinating sufficiently with France to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats or providing enough detailed information, French state auditors have said.

The cour des comptes, an independent French body that examines the use of public funds, has published a report on the efficiency of French policy on illegal migration, in which it said France was “struggling to develop operational cooperation arrangements” with its neighbours, including the UK.

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Young lover in Robert Doisneau’s Paris kiss photograph dies aged 93

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Françoise Bornet’s embrace with then boyfriend in 1950 became one of the most famous images of the city

It was one of the most famous kisses of the 20th century – a postwar clinch that became a 1980s poster phenomenon, bringing fame and court battles.

Françoise Bornet, the young lover immortalised in the French photographer Robert Doisneau’s The Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville, has died aged 93.

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Family of UK mother and son killed in Alps avalanche ‘beyond heartbroken’

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Kate Vokes, 54, and Archie Vokes, 22, from Manchester, killed while skiing off-piste near Mont Blanc

The family of a mother and son who died in an avalanche in the French Alps have said they are “beyond heartbroken” by the tragedy.

Kate Vokes, 54, and Archie Vokes, 22, from Manchester were killed when the avalanche swept through an off-piste section of the resort of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, near Mont Blanc, on 28 December.

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‘Not what I had in mind’: Eurostar cancellations leave thousands stranded

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Dismay at St Pancras International in London as services cancelled due to flooding of Thames tunnel

When Ilse Deurloo arrived at St Pancras station after a festive holiday with her boyfriend in London, she was shocked by the scenes of chaos and disruption as thousands of travellers were left stranded.

“This is not what I had in mind,” said Deurloo, 20, who was planning to return home to Amsterdam on Saturday. Her train, like all expected high-speed services between Ebbsfleet International and London St Pancras International, was cancelled due to flooding in a tunnel under the Thames. Thames Water said it believed the incident was caused by a fire control system malfunction.

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Row in France as government reluctant to back dry January

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Addiction experts urge state to promote month of abstinence but alcohol lobby says idea is out of step with French culture

Dry January is at the centre of a political row in France after more than 45 professors of addiction studies signed a letter urging the state to promote a month of abstinence from alcohol.

A group of senior academics and doctors working on addiction have written to the French health minister to say that not enough is being done by the state to campaign on alcohol risks, and the government should support an alcohol-free month at the start of the year.

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Mont Blanc avalanche kills British woman, 54, and son, 22, in French Alps

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Two were part of group skiing off-piste with instructor when avalanche occurred

A British woman and her son are reported to have died in the French Alps after an avalanche in the Mont Blanc mountain range.

The two were part of a group reportedly skiing far outside the designated slopes with an instructor when the avalanche, measuring 400 metres wide, occurred at an altitude of 2,300 metres near the ski resort of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in the Haute-Savoie on Wednesday.

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Top chef leaves French hotel after alleged naked ‘hazing’ of kitchen staff

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Michelin-starred Aurélien Largeau, who ran restaurant at Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz, says reports of incident are ‘false and defamatory’

A Michelin-starred chef has left his job at a French luxury hotel after an alleged hazing ritual in which a member of kitchen staff was reportedly tied up naked and humiliated.

The public prosecutor has opened an investigation for sexual assault and violence into the incident earlier this month.

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Man survives flight from Algeria to Paris hidden in plane’s landing gear

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Unidentified man in life-threatening condition after enduring temperatures of around -50C on Air Algerie flight from Oran

A man has been discovered hidden in the landing gear compartment of a commercial aircraft that flew into Paris from Algeria with severe hypothermia but alive, French authorities have said.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was found during technical checks after the Air Algerie flight from Oran, Algeria, landed at Paris’s Orly airport in mid-morning, prosecutors told AFP.

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French man admits killing wife and four children found on Christmas Day

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Man who had history of psychiatric illness said voices told him to ‘cause harm’, prosecutor in Meux says

A 33-year-old French man has admitted killing his wife and their four children, saying he heard voices telling him to “cause harm”, the public prosecutor said on Thursday.

French police on Tuesday arrested a man with a history of psychiatric illness on suspicion of murdering his Haitian-born wife and their children, aged nine months, and four, seven and 10 years old.

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Eiffel Tower closed as staff strike on 100th anniversary of creator’s death

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Union says operating company is ‘heading for disaster’ with budget based on unrealistic future visitor numbers

The Eiffel Tower was closed to the public on Wednesday after staff went on strike on the 100th anniversary of the death of its creator, Gustave Eiffel.

Disappointed tourists who had booked tickets to access the 134-year-old monument were told it was shut and they would be contacted by email.

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Celebrities’ letter defending Gérard Depardieu causes outrage in France

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Signatories of open letter, who include Charlotte Rampling and Carla Bruni, accused of placing actor above the law

An open letter signed by 56 prominent figures defending Gérard Depardieu and suggesting the cinema giant – who has been accused of rape and sexual assault – is the victim of a “lynching” has sparked outrage in France.

Critics have accused signatories – including the British actor Charlotte Rampling, the former French first lady Carla Bruni and Depardieu’s former partner Carole Bouquet – of placing him above the law and attempting to drown out #MeToo voices.

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‘Vandalism’: outcry over plans to replace Notre Dame Cathedral’s chapel windows

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Thousands sign petition challenging Macron-backed restoration that would add contemporary design to building

A plan backed by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to replace stained-glass windows in Notre Dame Cathedral’s side chapels with contemporary creations has been criticised as “vandalism”.

A petition has been signed by more than 120,000 people to retain the original windows. Critics say the change would destroy the architectural harmony of the historical building that was ravaged by fire in April 2019.

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Ski resorts battle for a future as snow declines in climate crisis

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International Ski Federation urged to cut emissions, while activists warn of damage through heavy use of snowmaking

After promising early dumps of snow in some areas of Europe this autumn, the pattern of recent years resumed and rain and sleet took over.

In the ski resorts of Morzine and Les Gets in the French Alps, the heavy rainfall meant that full opening of resorts was delayed until two days before Christmas, leaving the industry and the millions of tourists planning trips to stare at the sky in hope.

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Christmas getaway travel disruption likely to continue through weekend

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Weather warnings issued for drivers and London’s King’s Cross and Paddington stations will be closed

Christmas getaway travel disruption is expected to continue throughout the weekend, with millions of car journeys under way and major London railway stations due to close on Sunday.

The AA estimated that 16.4m car journeys will take place on Saturday and warned of “lengthy jams”.

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Christmas getaway disruption continues amid Dover, road and rail delays

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Eurostar and Eurotunnel services resume on Friday but drivers face 60-minute queue for French border controls

Christmas getaway disruption was continuing on Friday with long queues for cross-Channel journeys, motorway closures and train cancellations on one of the busiest days of the year for travel.

In the late afternoon the Port of Dover in Kent said it was taking about 60 minutes to process cars before French border controls.

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French police botched Michel Fourniret case, say UK victim’s parents

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Roger Parrish and Pauline Murrell say police might have stopped serial killer and his accomplice sooner

The parents of Joanna Parrish, the British student who was murdered by the French serial killer Michel Fourniret 33 years ago, have said their daughter and other victims could have been saved if police in France had done their job properly.

Roger Parrish and Pauline Murrell believe chances were missed to get to Fourniret before he beat, raped and killed their daughter and threw her body in a river in 1990.

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Emmanuel Macron denies controversial immigration bill is victory for far right

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French president defends law on prime time TV, saying it has not sparked a political crisis following health minister’s resignation

A combative Emmanuel Macron has defended his controversial immigration bill, including the measures supported by the far right.

The French president appeared on a prime time news discussion programme to answer questions about the bill and denied the law passed by MPs on Tuesday had provoked a political crisis in his centrist government, despite the resignation of a high-profile minister.

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France jails former doctor for 24 years over role in 1994 Rwanda genocide

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Sosthene Munyemana is sixth person to be tried and convicted in France over involvement in slaughter of Tutsi minority

Former Rwandan doctor Sosthene Munyemana has been jailed for 24 years by a French court for his involvement in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis.

The 68-year-old former gynaecologist was on Wednesday found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and participation in a conspiracy to prepare these crimes.

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France passes controversial immigration bill amid deep division in Macron’s party

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Strict new law contains so many hardline measures that the far-right Marine Le Pen has claimed it as an ‘ideological victory’

The French government is facing a political crisis after the health minister Aurélien Rousseau offered his resignation in protest over a hardline immigration bill.

Emmanuel Macron’s ruling centrist party was divided and soul-searching on Wednesday after a strict new immigration law was approved by parliament but contained so many hardline measures that the far-right Marine Le Pen claimed it as an “ideological victory” for her own anti-immigration platform.

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