France

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France's Le Pen Sues Madonna Ex Over Selfie

'Do you find it normal to be photographed while asleep on a plane?'

(Newser) - A far-right French politician is suing one of Madonna's ex-boyfriends for nearly $55,000—all because of an unflattering selfie taken on an airplane. Jean-Marie Le Pen—whom the Telegraph labels a "veteran xenophobic firebrand"—is miffed that the now-viral photo of him snoozing away in his...

Paris Canal Gives Up Its Secrets


 Canal Commissioned by 
 Napoleon Gives Up 
 Its Secrets 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 10, 2016 10:03 AM CST

Canal Commissioned by Napoleon Gives Up Its Secrets

So far, they've found dozens of bikes and a gun

(Newser) - It has been 15 years since Paris last cleaned the Canal Saint-Martin—long enough for the bottom of the waterway to accumulate thousands of wine and beer bottles, dozens of bikes, and at least one gun. The scenic area along the canal has become what the Telegraph calls the French...

Extreme Athlete Dies Setting Up Hot Air Balloon Stunt

Tancrede Melet, 32, was 'at arm's length' from the basket when he fell 100 feet

(Newser) - A French extreme sportsman described by the Inertia as an "inspiration to the working man" has died at the age of 32 after a hot air balloon stunt backfired, ABC News reports. Tancrede Melet, part of a daredevil group known as the Flying Frenchies , was setting up the stunt...

Paris Cops Kill Man in Fake Suicide Vest

He had a knife, shouted 'Allahu akbar' at police station

(Newser) - Officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man wearing a fake explosive vest at a police station in northern Paris on Thursday, French officials say. It came a year to the day after the attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo launched a bloody year in the French capital. A police...

Man Rams French Soldiers Guarding Mosque With His Car

His motives are currently unclear

(Newser) - A man rammed his car into four soldiers guarding a mosque on Friday in the southeast French city of Valence, but was stopped when a soldier fired and wounded him, authorities said. His motives were unclear, but with France on high alert after the coordinated attacks in Paris on Nov....

DNA Leads to Arrest in 1990s Serial Rapes in French Forest

The suspect is married with children

(Newser) - DNA traces helped police identify, arrest, and jail a Frenchman suspected of 34 rapes or attempted rapes in a suburban Paris forest from 1995 to 2001. Deputy prosecutor Bertrand Daillie told the AP the victims were between the ages of 27 and 72. The 40-year-old man was arrested Monday at...

Dark Details of France's WWII Vichy Regime Exposed

French law requires documents be made public now that 75 years have elapsed

(Newser) - The town of Vichy, France, has long tried to shake its sinister image: After Germany invaded the country in 1940, the collaborationist government established in Vichy under Marshal Philippe Pétain helped deport 76,000 Jews, including children, reports the BBC . But that effort may be about to stall out...

France's Madame to Rich, Famous Dies at 92

Madame Claude and her 'swans' were a Paris institution in the '60s and '70s

(Newser) - The most famous madame in France—who JFK reportedly once asked for a prostitute that looked like his wife "but hot"—died Saturday at the age of 92, the New York Times reports. Fernande Grudet—more commonly known as Madame Claude—ran a high-class call-girl ring catering to...

Man Who Beheaded Boss Kills Himself in Prison

Frenchman Yassin Salhi reportedly had radical Islamic ties

(Newser) - A Frenchman charged with beheading his boss and attaching the severed head to a fence in June has been found dead in a surprise end to the case of the man with reported ties to radical Islam who allegedly tried and failed to blow up a gas plant. Prison officials...

In France, Models Now Need a Doctor's Note

Law aims to crack down on too-skinny models

(Newser) - Models hoping to walk Paris' runways now need a doctor's note. French lawmakers passed a law on Thursday declaring models must obtain a medical certificate showing their body mass index is healthy and "compatible with the practice of the [modeling] profession" before working jobs. Those who break the...

Preschool Teacher Made Up Story About ISIS Attack

Authorities in France still investigating what happened

(Newser) - It sounded awful: A preschool teacher in Paris claimed that a masked assailant shouting allegiance to the Islamic State attacked him at school before classes began on Monday. Now it appears he made the whole thing up. The Paris prosecutor's office says the 45-year-old male invented the tale of...

Projection: Far Right Thumped in France

National Front goes from hot to not in regional elections

(Newser) - Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front collapsed in French regional elections Sunday, failing to take a single region after dominating the first round of voting, pollsters projected. The conservatives surged against the governing Socialists, changing the political map of France. The failure of the National Front to gain any...

France Vows to Protect Banksy's Steve Jobs Migrant Mural

Artist put it up at refugee camp in Calais

(Newser) - Banksy's latest high-profile mural makes a point about the plight of Syrian refugees though the example of Steve Jobs—and authorities in France are making sure the mural sticks around for a while. The artist painted a life-size mural of Jobs, whose biological father was a Syrian native, at...

U2 Brings Surprise Guest to Paris Stage

Eagles of Death Metal start with a Patti Smith song

(Newser) - Members of the California rock band Eagles of Death Metal have made a surprise return to a Paris stage during a concert by U2, less than a month after suicide bombers stormed the band's Nov. 13 gig at the Bataclan theater and killed 89 people. U2 on Monday night...

First of the Paris Targets Reopens Its Doors

A La Bonne Biere's doors open once again after 5 died there on Nov. 13

(Newser) - Three weeks after the deadly terror attacks in Paris, one of the targeted venues has opened its doors again, making it the first of the targets to do so. Customers filtered Friday into A La Bonne Biere—where five people perished at the hands of Islamic State gunmen on Nov....

Obama Lays Single Rose at Paris Massacre Site

Bataclan was his first stop after arrival

(Newser) - President Obama landed in Paris just before midnight Sunday and his motorcade took an unexpected route along the Seine. The president, who's in France for climate change talks, rode past the Eiffel Tower, the French Assembly building, and the Bastille before arriving at the famed Bataclan concert hall, site...

After Attacks, French Flock to Join the Army

Injured survivors stretchered in to memorial service

(Newser) - Among ordinary French people, the response to the Paris terror attacks has been remarkably similar to the US response to 9/11. The number of people applying to join the French military has quintupled, with people of all ages descending on recruitment offices, the New York Times reports. "I've...

Soccer Team Jerseys Drop Sponsor, Add Paris Tribute

'Je Suis Paris' to temporarily take place of Emirates Airline on Paris team's shirts

(Newser) - The Paris Saint-Germain soccer team wanted to show the world that its thoughts are with its home city and the victims of the recent terror attacks —so it has (temporarily) ditched a major sponsor from its jerseys and replaced it with a message of solidarity instead, reports For the...

Sister of Paris' Female Terrorist: 'She Was Sad'

Relatives describe a party girl turned troubled woman

(Newser) - The sister of the woman killed during a raid on an apartment outside Paris last week says Hasna Aitboulahcen wasn't a die-hard terrorist but was "manipulated by her cousin," alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Speaking with NBC News , 25-year-old Myriam Aitboulahcen—who last spoke...

Russia Shows Solidarity With France With Adorable Puppy

Russia hopes little Dobrynya can replace a police dog that died earlier this week

(Newser) - Russia is sending a German shepherd puppy named Dobrynya to France in the cuddliest show of international solidarity possible, the Independent reports. In Russian folklore, Dobrynya was "the personification of strength, kindness, bravery and selflessness," according to Sky News . In a statement, a Russian official called the puppy...

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