France

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France Ships Small Version of Famed Statue to US

Replica of Lady Liberty will be on Ellis Island for Independence Day

(Newser) - The first Statue of Liberty sent to the US 135 years ago was a hit, and France is making a similar—albeit smaller—gesture this summer. A nearly 10-foot-tall exact replica was sent off from Paris in a ceremony Monday, WLNE reports, where it's been in the garden of...

In France, Swift Justice for Macron Slap

Jailed man said he 'acted instinctively'

(Newser) - The man who slapped French President Emmanuel Macron in the face on Tuesday will spend the next four months behind bars. A court in Valence Thursday sentenced 28-year-old Damien Tarel to 18 months in jail for assaulting a public official, with 14 months suspended, per Reuters . Tarel—an unemployed medieval...

France's Emmanuel Macron Gets Slapped in the Face

President was greeting a crowd when a man pulled the stunt

(Newser) - A startling moment jolted an otherwise rousing political moment in France on Tuesday. As President Emmanuel Macron was greeting a crowd, a man clasped his arm and slapped him in the face, reports the BBC . Watch the video here . Security immediately intervened and arrested the man, and Macron appeared to...

Fewer Attend D-Day Events, but France 'Does Not Forget'

Coronavirus restrictions limit attendance as Britain opens new memorial

(Newser) - When the sun rises over Omaha Beach, revealing vast stretches of sand extending toward distant cliffs, one starts to grasp the immensity of the task faced by Allied troops on June 6, 1944, landing on the Nazi-occupied Normandy shore. Several ceremonies were being held Sunday to commemorate the 77th anniversary...

France to Open for Tourists, With a Few Rules

Americans will find it easier to travel, though not everywhere in Europe

(Newser) - France is ready to welcome back foreign tourists, the government announced Friday, provided they follow a few color-coded rules. Vaccinated visitors from Europe can arrive starting Wednesday, France 24 reports. So can travelers from the the orange-rated US and much of the rest of the world, who won't have...

French Teen's Anti-Islam Posts Lead to a Landmark Trial

13 are accused of threatening her online after she disparaged the religion

(Newser) - Thirteen people went on trial Thursday in Paris accused of cyberbullying or death threats against a teenage girl who posted online comments critical of Islam. The case is the first such trial under new jurisdiction France created this year to prosecute crimes online, including harassment and discrimination, per the AP...

A Big First for Paris&#39; Louvre
A Big First for
Paris' Louvre

A Big First for Paris' Louvre

Laurence des Cars appointed by President Macron as museum's first female president

(Newser) - It was a phone call Laurence des Cars had long waited for—and when it finally came this week, it was a "joyful and emotional moment." "I will never forget that call," the 54-year-old art historian tells France Inter , via the Guardian , of the correspondence that...

Lawyer: Pilot Was Strapped to Target in Terrifying Hazing

French fighter pilot had a hood over his head as munitions were dropped, lawyer says

(Newser) - A French fighter pilot says that when he arrived at a new unit, colleagues hazed him by putting a hood over his head, throwing him in the back of a pickup truck, driving around 30 minutes away, and attaching him to a pole. He says that when he heard the...

Royal Navy Gets Involved as Fishing Dispute Escalates

2 vessels sent to Jersey after France threatens to cut off electricity to Channel Island

(Newser) - The Channel Island of Jersey isn't part of the United Kingdom—but it is considered part of the British Isles, and the British government has sent in gunboats amid an escalating dispute with France. Two Royal Navy vessels patrol boats were sent to the island, which lies 14 miles...

Farmer Accidentally Makes France a Little Smaller

Belgian moves stone marking the border

(Newser) - Sometimes it takes a war to change the border between two nations. And sometimes, it requires only a ticked-off farmer. The BBC reports that a farmer in Belgium moved a stone marker in his field a little more than 7 feet, apparently because it was in the path of his...

Protesters Want Trial in Slaying of Jewish Woman

Macron is among those calling for a change in French law

(Newser) - Protesters in Paris and other French cities on Sunday denounced a ruling by France's highest court that the killer of a Jewish woman was not criminally responsible and therefore could not go on trial. Thousands of people filled Trocadero Plaza in Paris, in front of the Eiffel Tower, answering...

They Spent 40 Days in a Dark Cave for Science. Some Want to Go Back

Isolation study in France deprived subjects of clocks, light, contact with outside world

(Newser) - Ever wonder what it would feel like to unplug from a hyperconnected world and hide away in a dark cave for 40 days? Fifteen people in France did just that, emerging Saturday from a scientific experiment to say that time seemed to pass more slowly in their cavernous underground abode,...

France Tightens Law Against Sex With Children

Sex with children under 15 will now automatically be considered rape

(Newser) - France has finally brought its laws against sex with children in line with those of most other Western nations. Under a bill that was unanimously approved by the National Assembly Thursday, children under 15 can no longer be considered to have consented to sex, reports Reuters . Under the previous law,...

Facebook Is Sorry for Messing With Bitche

The social media giant's profanity algorithm flagged a small French town's page

(Newser) - Facebook is sorry that its notorious algorithm hounded a small French town. Ville de Bitche's official page disappeared without warning on March 19. Facebook restored it Tuesday, with a personal apology from the head of Facebook France to Benoit Kieffer, mayor of the town of 5,000, per Newsweek ...

France May Do Away With Short Domestic Flights

It's a move related to climate change

(Newser) - French lawmakers gave the green light to a new restriction over the weekend, but this one was spurred on by the climate, not COVID. The National Assembly late Saturday voted in favor of putting an end to all domestic airline flights whose journey could instead be made by direct train...

Treasure Hunt Requires You to Crack Codes in 2 Books

One hurdle in scoring Golden Treasure of the Entente Cordiale: One book is in French

(Newser) - A potentially lucrative treasure hunt is being offered to the public, though to crack the entire thing you'll need to know French—or at least partner with somebody who does. The latter idea is actually one of the points of the unusual challenge. Artist Michel Becker is the mastermind,...

Macron: 'We Tried to Push Back This Day as Long as Possible'

He says France will have third nationwide lockdown

(Newser) - With a third wave of coronavirus infections threatening to overwhelm hospitals, French President Emmanuel Macron has brought in a measure he had long resisted—a third national lockdown. Macron announced Wednesday that the "lockdown light" measures introduced in Paris and 15 other regions almost two weeks ago will be...

After 10 Months, 400 Lawyers, Drugmaker Found Guilty

Servier Laboratories was accused of letting diabetes drug Mediator be sold as diet drug

(Newser) - A $3.2 million fine has been issued in a "judicial marathon" of a case centered around a French pharmaceutical company, but that $3.2 million is just the start, reports the AP . Servier Laboratories was accused of allowing the diabetes drug Mediator to be sold as a diet...

Monks Are Sitting on 4K Discs of Cheese

With demand plummeting, French monastery sells online

(Newser) - The pandemic has cut sales of the cheese produced at a French monastery in half. Restaurants are closed, and customers don't stop by the Cîteaux Abbey's shop these days. So the basement is filling up with 4,000 semi-soft discs, the Guardian reports. The Trappist monks who...

Ikea France on Trial Over Spying Claims

Company is accused of illegally spying on employees, disgruntled customers

(Newser) - Ikea’s French subsidiary and several of its former executives went on trial Monday over accusations that they illegally spied on employees and customers. Trade unions reported the furniture and home goods company to French authorities in 2012, accusing it of collecting personal data by fraudulent means and the illicit...

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