France

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After UK Clears Deportation Bill, 5 Die in English Channel

Human rights groups describe new legislation as cruel

(Newser) - At least five people have died while crossing the English Channel, according to French media, hours after the UK approved a migrant deportation bill, per the AP . The Voix du Nord newspaper said the bodies were discovered at the Wimereaux beach in northern France on Tuesday. The rescue operation is...

France Readies a Plan B for Olympic Ceremony

Amid heightened security concerns, opening of Paris Games may be moved

(Newser) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics planned on the River Seine could be shifted instead to the country's national stadium if the security threat is deemed too high. France is on a high security alert ahead of the Paris Olympics and...

She Went Ghost Hunting, Was Found Drained of Blood

Authorities searching for male accused of abusing the French victim discovered in Italy

(Newser) - A French woman may have been hunting for ghosts before her body was found drained of blood on the floor of an abandoned church in northwest Italy. The 22-year-old woman, who has not been publicly identified, left her home near Lyon, telling family she planned to search for a haunted...

His Dive in Front of a President Doesn't End Well

Alexis Jandard of France entered the water the hard way as Emmanuel Macron watches

(Newser) - France's Alexis Jandard is an excellent diver, and he has the world medals to prove it. On Thursday, though, not so much. While diving in front of French President Emmanuel Macron and other French dignitaries, Jandard lost his footing on the board, fell onto his back, then kind of...

Couple Had 159 Cats in Small Apartment

Court in Nice, France, bans them from having pets for life

(Newser) - A French couple found to have been keeping 159 cats and seven dogs in their small Nice apartment have received a lifetime ban from having pets. Police arrived at the apartment last year to intervene in a neighborhood dispute and discovered the animals, and their poop, spread around the 861-square-foot...

Race Honors Paris' Celebrated Waiters
Race Salutes Paris'
Famed Waiters
Mar 25, 2024 1:08 PM CDT

Race Salutes Paris' Famed Waiters

Apparently by making them walk a mile and a quarter carrying coffee, water, croissant

(Newser) - Usain Bolt's sprint world records were never in danger. Then again, even the world's fastest human likely wouldn't have been so quick while balancing a tray with a croissant, a coffee cup, and a glass of water through the streets of Paris without spilling it everywhere. France'...

Scientists Urge French to Cut Down on Frog Legs

French taste for the delicacy was called out by 557 experts as overconsumption

(Newser) - Hundreds of concerned scientists are asking French President Emmanuel Macron to put the brakes on a very French custom: eating frog legs. The open letter , signed by 557 research, veterinary, and conservation professionals, notes that the European Union isn't exactly practicing what it preaches in how native frogs are...

At Suggestion She'll Perform at Olympics, She's Bombarded

French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura accused by France's far right of butchering the language

(Newser) - Aya Nakamura is "the most listened-to French artist in the world," according to the organizing committee of the Paris Olympics, so it makes sense that she might perform at the opening ceremony in July. There's been much speculation that she will. Local media reported Nakamura had discussed...

Natalie Portman's Marriage Is Officially Kaput

Split from Benjamin Millepied finalized 8 months after papers were quietly filed, rep confirms

(Newser) - Natalie Portman and husband Benjamin Millepied are officially over. A rep for the 42-year-old May December actor says her divorce from Millepied, 46, has been finalized in France, where the couple live, eight months after papers were filed. "Her friends rallied around her and helped get her through the...

As Olympics Loom, Eyes on France's Mystery 'Invader'

Street artist's mosaics have appeared in more than 4K locations around the globe

(Newser) - For the Paris Olympics, it could almost be a new sport: Score points by hunting down mosaics that a mystery artist who calls himself "Invader" has cemented to walls across France's capital, the world, and even had carried aloft to the International Space Station. Vincent Giraud, one of...

France Makes Abortion a 'Guaranteed Freedom'

Nation becomes the first to enshrine the right into its constitution

(Newser) - Abortion is now a constitutional right in France. Lawmakers gathered in a special session on Monday and voted 780-72 to make abortion a "guaranteed freedom," reports Reuters . With the vote approving the amendment, France becomes the first nation to explicitly enshrine abortion rights into its constitution, per the...

You Won't See This Newspaper for 4 More Years

France's satirical 'La Bougie du Sapeur' only comes out on leap year

(Newser) - There have only been 11 issues of La Bougie du Sapeur since Valery d'Estaing was the French president, and on Thursday, locals welcome the 12th. What the BBC calls "the world's only quadrennial" satirical newspaper is out again this week in France, making its once-every-four-years appearance on...

The Eiffel Tower Is Open Once Again
The Eiffel Tower Is
Open Once Again
Feb 26, 2024 1:30 AM CST

The Eiffel Tower Is Open Once Again

Operator of the Paris landmark reaches agreement with striking workers

(Newser) - The Eiffel Tower reopened to visitors on Sunday after a six-day closure because of striking employees demanding better maintenance of the historic landmark (which is showing traces of rust) and salary hikes, the AP reports. The operator of the 1,083-foot tower said in a statement it reached an agreement...

'Due to a Strike, the Eiffel Tower Is Closed. We Apologize'
Eiffel Tower Remains Closed
UPDATED
Feb 22, 2024 1:35 PM CST

Eiffel Tower Remains Closed

That's four days and counting because of strike

(Newser) - Visitors who hoped to visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Thursday were out of luck for the fourth consecutive day. The landmark remains closed amid a labor strike over allegations of financial mismanagement, reports the New York Times . Given that the stoppage comes just months ahead of the Summer...

Macron: France Could Recognize Palestinian State

The suggestion, already expressed by the UK, is a first for a French leader

(Newser) - French President Emmanuel Macron has said recognizing a Palestinian state is not a "taboo" for France, as international frustration grows with Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories. France and the EU have long supported a two-state solution in the Mideast, but as part of a negotiated settlement, the...

France's Sarkozy Hears His Fate in Campaign Finance Trial
Court Cuts Sarkozy
Sentence to 6 Months
UPDATED
Feb 14, 2024 2:00 PM CST

Court Cuts Sarkozy Sentence to 6 Months

But it upholds former president's conviction for illegal campaign financing

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy didn't have a great Valentine's Day. An appeals court in Paris upheld the former president's 2021 conviction for illegal campaign financing, though it halved his sentence from one year to six months, with another six months suspended, the New York Times reports. If he does...

It's a 'Beautiful' Moment for Parisians

Notre Dame's reconstructed spire unveiled

(Newser) - Notre Dame is starting to look a bit more like it did before it was ravaged by fire in April 2019 . Though the medieval building's exoskeleton remains, scaffolding around its peak came down this week, revealing the new spire, which is "identical in appearance, materials (oak framework covered...

Paris' Olympic Medals Feature a Little Something Special

Yep, that's an actual piece of the Eiffel Tower going home with victorious athletes

(Newser) - An Olympic medal with an inlaid piece of the Eiffel Tower. How's that for a monumental prize? A hexagonal, polished chunk of iron taken from the iconic landmark is being embedded in each gold, silver, and bronze medal that will be hung around athletes' necks at the July 26-Aug....

Paris Just Made Your SUV a Lot Costlier

City of Lights votes in favor of eye-popping parking fees for SUVs ahead of Olympic Games

(Newser) - Parisians voted Sunday to muscle SUVs off the French capital's streets by making them much more expensive to park, the latest leg in a drive by Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo to make the host city for this year's Olympic Games greener and friendlier for pedestrians and cyclists. More...

In This Train Station, an 'Unbearable Act'

Cops say man with knife, hammer injured 3 in Paris' Gare de Lyon station; suspect in custody

(Newser) - A man armed with a knife and a hammer wounded three people Saturday in an early morning attack at the bustling Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, another nerve-rattling security incident in the Olympic host city before the Summer Games open in six months. The man, carrying residency papers...

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