France

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On Eve of Games, 'Malicious Acts' Paralyze France's Rail Network

High-speed train lines hit by 'massive attack' hours before Olympics opening ceremony

(Newser) - The French national rail company SNCF said Friday that high-speed lines were hit by several "malicious acts" that heavily disrupted traffic on the day of the Olympics' opening ceremony. Lines in the west, north, and east of France were affected, SNCF announced. Trains to neighboring Belgium and to London...

Olympics Off to Rocky Start in One Area: Food

Athletes complain that eggs, other items are in short supply

(Newser) - Olympic athletes are hungrier than expected—not for medals, but for eggs. French newspaper L'Équipe reports on apparent food shortages in Paris' Olympic Village, where eggs had to be rationed at breakfast on Wednesday. Catering company Sodexo Live! confirmed certain items were in "very high demand" and...

Dutch Child Rapist Is Competing in Olympics

Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde sexually assaulted 12-year-old girl a decade ago

(Newser) - Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde will compete in the Paris Olympics, but he won't be staying in the athletes village, and he won't be talking to reporters, as per the Dutch Olympic Committee. That's because the 29-year-old competitor from the Netherlands served time in prison...

Simone Biles Has a New Option at the Olympics

Team USA says star gymnast doesn't have to compete in any finals events if she doesn't want to

(Newser) - Simone Biles will be back at the Olympics this summer, three years after she pulled herself out of multiple events at the Tokyo Games to contend with mental health issues. This time around, however, the 27-year-old gymnast will have more say in how and when she competes—meaning she won'...

Police Will Stand Every 6 Feet Along Seine on Friday

Unprecedented 77K security personnel are in Paris for Olympic Games

(Newser) - At the 2012 London Olympics, the last Olympic Games held in Europe, there were about 25,000 security personnel on hand. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, there will be three times as many. The French capital is "rolling out the largest peacetime security operation in the country's history"...

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Hit With Her Own Charges

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is accused of witness tampering in case involving ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy

(Newser) - Former supermodel and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy received preliminary charges Tuesday for involvement in alleged efforts to pressure a witness who accused ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy of receiving illegal campaign financing from Libya. Bruni-Sarkozy was placed under judicial supervision on Tuesday, which included a ban on contact with all those...

Pistols Napoleon Planned to Use to End His Life Are Sold

They were auctioned for $1.8M

(Newser) - As the story goes, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte intended to shoot himself on April 12, 1814, after he was forced to abdicate. But the BBC reports his grand squire, Armand de Caulaincourt, emptied Napoleon's two pistols of their gunpowder; he instead consumed poison but vomited and survived. Those pistols...

Macron Won't Accept PM's Resignation After Shock Elections

It's a 'government in limbo' in France, with no coalition claiming enough seats to assume control

(Newser) - After a surprising turn in France's snap elections that kept the far-right National Rally out of power , but with no faction in complete control of the government, President Emmanuel Macron made moves on Monday to attempt to create some structure as the dust settles. First order of the day:...

French Version of Excalibur Is Missing

Legends say Durandal was embedded in rock for 1.3K years

(Newser) - The French equivalent of Excalibur has been stolen—but unlike the sword in the legend of King Arthur, whoever pulled the Durandal sword from a rock is more likely to be proclaimed a thief than a true king. The sword is missing, believed stolen from the village of Rocamadour, where...

In This Nation, Getting to Work Takes Just 17 Minutes

Denmark boasts shortest commute time in the world, per AHTI Games stats

(Newser) - Looking for the shortest, sweetest commute? Consider Scandinavia. That's per AHTI Games, which crunched the numbers to figure out how long it takes to get from home to work across the globe, per Digital Journal . Denmark tops the list, with an average commute time of just 17 minutes. Neighbor...

French Director Charged With Raping 2 Women

Actress says Benoit Jacquot groomed her when she was 16, he was 52

(Newser) - French film director Benoit Jacquot has been charged with rape and banned from directing minors or having any other contact with them. The 77-year-old was charged Wednesday with raping actresses Julia Roy, 34, and Isild Le Besco, 41, years ago, the New York Times reports. Jacquot was charged with raping...

France as We Know It Looks Set to Change
France as We Know It
Looks Set to Change
the rundown
Jul 1, 2024 10:20 AM CDT

France as We Know It Looks Set to Change

Marine Le Pen's National Rally took the lead in the first round of legislative elections

(Newser) - France's National Rally surged into the lead in the first round of legislative elections, according to results released early Monday, bringing the far-right party to the brink of power and dealing a major blow to President Emmanuel Macron's centrists in an election that could set the country, and...

Far Right Swamping Macron's Centrists So Far

Projections show president's party could come in a distant third in elections' first round

(Newser) - France's high-stakes legislative elections propelled the far-right National Rally to a strong but not decisive lead in the first-round vote Sunday, polling agencies projected. At this rate, President Emmanuel Macron's grouping of centrist parties could finish a distant third in the first-round ballot, the AP reports. That alliance...

Marcon's Gamble Draws Heavy Turnout
Macron's Gamble Draws
Heavy Turnout
Jun 30, 2024 11:10 AM CDT

Macron's Gamble Draws Heavy Turnout

Elections could leave president weakened by far right or left and the nation in political deadlock

(Newser) - Voter turnout in France on Sunday was running historically high—reflecting the stakes and interest in elections that could weaken Emmanuel Macron's presidency and have major effects on domestic and foreign policy. All 577 seats in the lower and more critical house of Parliament are up for grabs. Macron...

Woman Attacked Running Through Wolf Enclosure at French Zoo

She apparently entered a restricted area while staying at a lodge

(Newser) - A woman staying at a lodge at a French zoo ended up jogging through the safari zone, where she was attacked by three wolves. The 37-year-old was staying with family at a lodge within Thoiry safari park and zoo 25 miles west of Paris when she was attacked on Sunday....

Reported Rape of Child Renews Antisemitism as Election Issue

Far-right party leads in polls ahead of French voting

(Newser) - The reported rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a suspected antisemitic attack has sent shockwaves throughout France and brought concerns about antisemitism to the forefront of campaigning for legislative elections. The anti-immigration National Rally party, which has tried to shed historical links to antisemitism, is leading in pre-election polling...

French Crowds Protest Rise of Far Right

Left-wing parties form coalition despite differences on wars

(Newser) - Anti-racism groups joined French unions and a brand-new left-wing coalition in protests in Paris and across France on Saturday against the surging nationalist far right, with frenzied campaigning having begun ahead of snap parliamentary elections . The French Interior Ministry said 250,000 people turned out to protest, 75,000 of...

With Olympic Water Sports Looming, Bad News on Seine

River in Paris has levels of E. coli bacteria that are beyond limits determined to be safe for humans

(Newser) - Water in the Seine had unsafe elevated levels of E. coli less than two months before swimming competitions are scheduled to take place in it during the Paris Olympics, according to test results published Friday. Contamination levels in the first eight days of June, after persistent heavy rain in Paris,...

Macron's Gamble Likened to 'Russian Roulette'
Macron's Stunner
Gives France
a Stark Choice
the rundown
Jun 10, 2024 9:56 AM CDT

Macron's Stunner Gives France a Stark Choice

'Do you really want to be governed by the far right?' is how one analysis frames his gamble

(Newser) - The sentiment in news coverage appears to be unanimous in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron's surprise decision to call early elections: It amounts to a monumental gamble in his fight with the far right. He is, in the words of center-right politician Valerie Pecresse, "playing Russian...

Biden Tweaks Trump in Visit to US Cemetery

Predecessor canceled planned trip while in France during his term

(Newser) - President Biden closed out his five-day trip to France by paying his respects at an American military cemetery that Donald Trump skipped when he was president. Before returning to the US, Biden honored America's war dead at the Aisne-Marne American cemetery in Belleau, about an hour outside Paris, the...

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