France

[phkrause]

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??

[phkrause]

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?

[phkrause]

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.

[phkrause]

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?

[phkrause]

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!!!!!

[phkrause]

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?

[phkrause]

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?

[phkrause]

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?

[phkrause]

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?