A French ISIS member went on trial Thursday on terror charges amid accusations that he oversaw executions in Syria as a senior figure in the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. Tyler Vilus, 30, is facing charges of belonging to a terrorist group, heading a unit of IS group fighters and …
Read More »Eiffel Tower to reopen after longest closure since WWII
Workers are preparing the Eiffel Tower for reopening next week after the coronavirus pandemic led to the iconic Paris landmark’s longest closure since World War II. France’s tourism industry is opening back up, but the 324-meter (1,063-feet) tall wrought-iron tower won’t immediately welcome visitors the way it did before the …
Read More »Police called in after violence flares in the French city of Dijon
French police said they had intervened overnight to restore calm and order in the city of Dijon after youths set fire to vehicles and dustbins over the last three days, and added they were prepared to bring in more police forces if needed. “The events of the last few days …
Read More »French police stage protest on Paris’ Champs Elysees against restrictions
French police staged a protest on Paris’ Champs Elysees on Friday, demonstrating against restrictions on restraint holds they can use, and curbs imposed by the government in response to public anger over cases of police brutality in France. TV footage shows police unions that had parked dozens of vehicles at …
Read More »Protests against police brutality turned violent in Paris, tear gas fired at protesters
Protests against police brutality turned violent in Paris, tear gas fired at protesters.
Read More »Paris bans demo over black Frenchman who died in 2016 police operation
Paris police banned on Tuesday a demonstration planned in memory of Adama Traore, a 24-year old black Frenchman who died in a 2016 police operation which some have likened to the death of George Floyd in the United States. The Paris police department said in a statement that there were …
Read More »French police break up medical smuggling networks, seize 440,000 face masks
Police in France has dismantled smuggling networks trying to take advantage of a rush to buy medical supplies –including face masks– to tackle the coronavirus epidemic. By the end of April, police had dismantled a number of such smuggling networks, stopped scams and attempted scams to the value of more …
Read More »Car RAMS French motorcycle police, seriously injuring two officers (Video)
Two police officers in a Paris suburb have been seriously injured after they were rammed by a car, apparently on purpose. The driver has been arrested and authorities are investigating the possibility it was a terrorist attack. A BMW drove into two mounted officers and proceeded to crush one of …
Read More »Twenty hurt after high-speed train derails in eastern France
A high-speed TGV train running between Strasbourg in eastern France and Paris derailed on Thursday, injuring 20 people including one seriously, local officials said. A spokesperson for the SNCF said: “As far as we know, there are no serious injuries among passengers.” Other trains were being re-routed and there was …
Read More »Macron’s candidate for Paris mayor quits over sexting row
French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a setback on Friday when one of his closest lieutenants, Benjamin Griveaux, pulled out of the race to become mayor of Paris after it was alleged he sent sexual images to a woman who is not his wife. “I have decided to withdraw my candidacy …
Read More »French police clear last refugee camp in Paris
Four women are among the group moved on from makeshift camp, which authorities describe as dirty and ‘overrun by rats’. French police have cleared the last refugee tent camp in northeastern Paris, moving 427 people to shelters as part of a plan to take migrants off the streets. The group, …
Read More »France’s Louvre shut by pension strikes
The Louvre museum in Paris shut down Friday after striking workers blocked the entrance, management said, in the latest protest against plans to overhaul France’s pension system. Hundreds of disappointed visitors massed in front of the entrance to the world’s most visited museum, some hurling insults at the striking workers, …
Read More »At Least 21 Hospitalised in Northern France Due to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
A carbon monoxide leak at a church in Carlepont, in the northern French department of Oise, hospitalized at least 21 people who attended a Christmas Mass service, the French newspaper Le Parisien reported. According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, emergency services received a call to the Saint-Eloi church at …
Read More »No Christmas mass at Notre-Dame for the first time since Napoleon
For the first time in more than 200 years, worshippers will not be able to attend Christmas mass at Notre-Dame cathedral, still being restored after a devastating fire. “There won’t be a midnight mass at Notre-Dame. The last time this happened was during the French Revolution. Since 1803, there have …
Read More »Protesters clash with police at key Paris rail terminal
Protesters scuffled with police at the Gare de Lyon station in Paris on Monday and union leaders threatened to ramp up action at oil facilities as a nationwide strike against government pension reforms went into the 19th day. Riot police tangled with around 30 protesters at the Gare de Lyon, …
Read More »Massive chaos as largest strike in years hits France for 2nd Day
Hundreds of thousands of strikers paralyzed the transport system on the first day of industrial action which prompted the closure of schools across the nation. According to union leaders, more than 1.5 million people turned out across the country, with police using tear gas to disperse them. Just in Paris …
Read More »Two dead after massive floods hit southeastern France
Two people were found dead on Sunday after massive flooding that has hit southeastern France since Friday, causing major damage in the region, local authorities said. One person was found dead near Muy, between the towns of Nice and Marseille, the police prefecture of the Var department said in a …
Read More »French police clear migrant tent camps in northern Paris.
French police cleared two huge migrant tent camps in northern Paris on Thursday and authorities vowed to clear other camps, a day after the government announced tighter immigration policies. Buses took away more than 1,600 people in the Porte de la Chapelle and Seine-Saint-Denis area, where illegal refugees lived in …
Read More »Thousands in Europe march against Turkey’s Syria offensive.
Thousands of people, some shouting “Erdogan terrorist”, took to the streets of Paris and other European cities on Saturday in protest at the Turkish assault on Kurds in Syria. Protesters marching under the Kurdish green, red and yellow flag waved placards reading “Trump = serial killer” or “the true leader …
Read More »Former French president Jacques Chirac dies, aged 86.
Former president Jacques Chirac, who led France from 1995 to 2007, has died at the age of 86. His son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux told the Associated Press that Chirac died “peacefully, among his loved ones.” The exact cause of death is unknown, but he had reportedly been hospitalized several times in …
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