France

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Paris residents can enter lottery to share cemetery space with Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde

The city of Paris has announced a lottery with a twist: Instead of a cash prize, entrants can instead win the chance to be buried in one of the French capital’s most celebrated cemeteries.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/05/travel/paris-cemetery-lottery-scli-intl?

ps:How crazy is that??

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Former French President Sarkozy released from prison pending appeal in conspiracy case

PARIS (AP) — France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy was freed from prison Monday after a Paris appeals court granted him release under judicial supervision, less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.

https://apnews.com/article/sarkozy-prison-release-france-63fb4cb3e68c6fef393f7f62213d25b7?

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Louvre mini-mystery solved

Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux, right, walks past as police officers block an entrance to the Louvre after thieves carried out a daylight raid on French crown jewels in Paris on Oct. 19. Photo: AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File "Fedora Man" — the well-dressed mystery man who became an internet sensation in the aftermath of the Louvre heist — is actually a 15-year-old with no connection to the robbery or the investigation. Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux went viral, anonymously, when he was photographed standing near police officers investigating the heist. His outfit — vest, fedora, overcoat, even an umbrella leaning against his side — prompted speculation that he was some sort of special investigator. Isn't that what you'd expect the French detective assigned to a jewel heist to look like? ?? But no. He's actually just a teenager who lives outside Paris with his family. He was at the scene of the crime because the family had gone to visit the Louvre. And he was dressed that well simply because he dresses well. "I like to be chic," he told AP in his first interview. "I go to school like this." Go deeper.

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Louvre boosts security with 100 cameras and other measures after crown jewels heist

PARIS (AP) — The head of the Louvre Museum said Wednesday that new surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems will soon be installed at the Paris landmark after last month’s stunning crown jewels heist.

https://apnews.com/article/louvre-heist-jewels-security-renovation-d144bf66b8fe974ce6a660ce85694198?

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France will investigate Musk’s Grok chatbot after Holocaust denial claims

PARIS (AP) — France’s government is taking action against billionaire Elon Musk ‘s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok after it generated French-language posts that questioned the use of gas chambers at Auschwitz, officials said.

https://apnews.com/article/france-ai-musk-grok-holocaust-e8c952c5d878226aa917d7a65836ed88?

ps:That's all we need to have an administration where at least half don't believe the holocaust happen and the other half not even saying a word to correct that bull manure!!!!!

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AP mapping shows France’s poorest regions backing Le Pen’s party as support for Macron wanes

PARIS (AP) — The date was May 7, 2017. Addressing cheering supporters, the newly elected leader of France, Emmanuel Macron, made a promise that now, in his waning 18 months as president, lies in tatters.

https://apnews.com/article/france-le-pen-macron-poverty-election-maps-c9f07cf760d3930498017f132f95443e?

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French MPs demand explanation over tech firm’s contract to help ICE in US

French lawmakers have demanded an explanation after one of the country’s biggest tech companies signed a multimillion dollar contract to help the US enforcement agency ICE trace and expel migrants.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/31/french-mps-demand-explanation-over-tech-firm-capgemini-contract-ice?

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France dumps Zoom and Teams as Europe seeks digital autonomy from the US

LONDON (AP) — In France, civil servants will ditch Zoom and Teams for a homegrown video conference system. Soldiers in Austria are using open source office software to write reports after the military dropped Microsoft Office. Bureaucrats in a German state have also turned to free software for their administrative work.

https://apnews.com/article/europe-digital-sovereignty-big-tech-9f5388b68a0648514cebc8d92f682060?

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France’s parliament votes to repeal slavery-era Black Code, with tears and history in the chamber

PARIS (AP) — For nearly two centuries after France abolished slavery, the colonial-era law that classified humans as property has remained quietly on the books. On Thursday, the lower house of parliament voted to wipe it from French law.

https://apnews.com/article/france-slavery-law-code-noir-repeal-74ce7aecfdd7172bc5b54fcecf9cc789?

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‘A kind of massive rave’: Paris braces for 2m revellers as Fête de la Musique returns amid heatwave warnings

Officials expand safety measures as French capital prepares for huge annual street celebration

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/20/paris-braces-tourist-influx-street-festival-fete-de-la-musique?

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Le Pen says she’ll run for French presidency next year despite court-ordered monitor

PARIS (AP) — Far-right leader Marine Le Pen says she’ll run for the French presidency next year despite being sentenced Tuesday to wear a court-ordered electronic monitor for embezzlement.

https://apnews.com/article/france-le-pen-macron-bardella-verdict-election-dcd2a305d01a87f13f1d7c81dffeee90?

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France’s National Assembly gives final approval to assisted-dying bill after years of debate

PARIS (AP) — France’s National Assembly gave final approval Wednesday to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, the culmination of years of debate over end-of-life care.

https://apnews.com/article/france-medically-assisted-dying-euthanasia-vote-628a8191b3756ae1fb2cc0e429526b67?

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French lawmakers approve a sweeping social media ban for children under 15

PARIS (AP) — France banned children under 15 from using social media on Tuesday, becoming the first country in the European Union to pass a blanket ban on the platforms as concerns grow worldwide over the harmful effects of digital content on kids.

https://apnews.com/article/france-social-media-ban-macron-94abd981ccea85138af314cfb1ea62cf?

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France recorded 5,700 more deaths than usual during its historic June heat wave

PARIS (AP) — France recorded at least 5,700 more deaths than usual during a historic heat wave last month, the public health agency said Wednesday, sharply increasing its estimates of the feared toll from record-shattering temperatures.

https://apnews.com/article/france-heatwave-extra-deaths-health-agency-dff2ed624e0cdad02f836d30ae3e878f?

• 🖼️ The Louvre's Apollo gallery is open to the public for the first time since $102 million worth of crown jewels were stolen in a dramatic daytime heist. Go deeper.

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France's forest management may need to change to prevent more wildfires in Les Landes

History keeps repeating itself in the smoldering forests of southwest France, now ash-covered and charred. Read More.

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Thieves steal 4 Renoirs from a French museum. 2 of the paintings are still missing

PARIS (AP) — Two thieves sliced through a fence, climbed through a window and stole four valuable Renoir paintings Tuesday from a small museum on the French Riviera, but abandoned two of the artworks as they fled, authorities said. Investigators launched a national search for the perpetrators.

https://apnews.com/article/france-renoir-heist-paintings-riviera-4f5a9a3ece4f973c73721232fb917282?

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France gripped by spreading student protests as PM calls crisis meeting

France's prime minister convened a crisis meeting Thursday and canceled ministers' trips to focus on the nationwide spread of protests, some violent, by high school students venting about under-resourced schools, long hours and other complaints. Read More.

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• 🇫🇷 Student protests in France over school resources and spending have led to thousands of arrests and hundreds of injuries amid violent clashes between teens and police. What to know.

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Gruesome injuries throw spotlight on France’s policing of high school protests Adolescents have suffered life-changing injuries blamed on police weaponry during nationwide protests by high school students demanding more funding for run-down schools. A police tear gas grenade shattered a 14-year-old’s jaw, and a 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a police stun grenade. Read more.

What to know: According to the Interior Ministry, police have made more than 6,600 arrests — mostly of people under 18 — since protests began snowballing last week, including 488 people detained during nationwide demonstrations Tuesday. The movement started in a Paris-region high school in mid-September.   Amid a growing outcry, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced Wednesday that the model of stun grenade suspected of mutilating the 15-year-old will no longer be used against high schoolers. Still, he has also defended police actions as proportionate in “almost all cases.” He says police have been obliged to intervene when protests led to rioting, vandalism and other violence, and have done so mindful that they’re largely dealing with children.

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🇫🇷 France rocked by worst riots in years

A car burns in the Place de la République in Paris yesterday. Photo: Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters Police arrested at least 1,800 people across France after violent groups clashed with officers and looted shops during nationwide demonstrations that drew hundreds of thousands of people who denounced rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. Masked groups set fires and attacked public buildings, including city halls, in several cities. In Limoges, in central France, flames engulfed the neo-Renaissance city hall, which was built in the 19th century and survived two world wars. The building's iconic clock tower collapsed. Get the latest.

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Macron condemns those who ‘sought to bring down the Republic’ after rioting mars nationwide protests

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday voiced the public’s “anger” and “shame” over rioting and looting during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. At least 2,400 people were arrested.

https://apnews.com/article/france-protests-violence-looting-f5ce07c2ef46ad0c02c6ff7018532a59?

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🇫🇷 French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is pushing for curfews to prevent more rioting and looting amid the cost-of-living and education protests rocking the country. Go deeper ...

[phkrause]

Several French cities impose curfews

Police officers in riot gear stand guard during civil unrest in Paris, France, on Sunday. (Abdul Saboor/Reuters)

Violent protests in parts of Europe are raising security concerns and putting authorities on high alert. In France, officials imposed curfews in several cities Monday night — including in parts of Paris — after the country’s worst rioting in years left two people dead and thousands arrested. Italy is also deploying 500 troops to Milan after recent demonstrations over the rising cost of living erupted into clashes.

+ What’s happening: French cities impose curfews after weekend of chaos + Milan protesters face off with police over rising cost of living

+ The bigger picture: France’s crisis sounds familiar. Is America next?

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France announces nightly curfews 'for as long as necessary' in Paris and other big cities

Fresh curfews were being imposed across the city centers of Paris and Lyon on Tuesday after the first quiet night since France’s most destructive rioting in years, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said a “massive” security operation was planned for new protests Saturday. Read More.

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Fighting words

French President Emmanuel Macron had some choice words for foreign leaders after President Donald Trump weighed in on the country’s unrest. See what prompted his sharp response.