France

Stories 1081 - 1100 | << Prev   Next >>

Investigators Search Sarkozy's Home, Office

As part of a probe into suspected illegal financing

(Newser) - French investigators searched former President Nicolas Sarkozy's home and office today as part of a probe into suspected illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by L'Oreal cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt, an official said. Sarkozy, who lost his immunity from prosecution June 15, denies the claims . The probe...

Driving in France? Gotta Carry a Breathalyzer

New law will save lives, government hopes

(Newser) - France is serious about cutting down on drunk driving: A new law requires all drivers in the country to carry a breathalyzer in their vehicles or be fined. Car accidents kill 4,000 people there each year, and drunk driving is the main cause of those accidents, the BBC reports....

Crisis in France: True Croissants Disappearing

50% of the time they've been replaced by a factory-made version

(Newser) - Sacré bleu! French foodies are in an uproar over new claims that half the croissants sold in the country's traditional bakeries nowadays are "industrial," meaning frozen or pre-prepared and then heated up rather than baked on site. And it's leading purists to proclaim that the true...

Strauss-Kahn, Wife Split
 Strauss-Kahn, Wife Split 

Strauss-Kahn, Wife Split

Anne Sinclair gives scandal-hit DSK le boot, gossip mag says

(Newser) - Anne Sinclair has finally ditched scandal-ridden husband Dominique Strauss-Kahn, according to French gossip magazine Closer . She threw the former IMF chief—who has been linked to a prostitution ring and accused of taking part in a gang rape —out of their Paris home a month ago and the two...

Israeli Leaps to Death From Eiffel Tower

He listened to headphones as rescuers tried to talk him down

(Newser) - A 25-year-old Israeli man managed to climb the Eiffel Tower and leap to his death. Cops spotted the man, wearing a backpack, climbing up the exterior of the landmark after it was closed to the public to the third-level observatory deck of the tower, which is close to 1,000...

Europe Stocks Slump Ahead of EU Summit

Plenty of gloom and doom continuing for euro and eurozone

(Newser) - European stocks and the euro all fell this morning, as investors remain skeptical that this week's EU summit is going to accomplish much of anything, reports the Wall Street Journal . The euro fell to $1.2490 from $1.2574 last Friday, while indexes were down across the continent, with...

Merkel Softens Her Opposition to Stimulus

Germany, France, others agree to push for $163B growth package

(Newser) - The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain agreed to push for a growth package worth up to $163 billion at a European Union summit next week aimed at kickstarting the economy and safeguarding the currency bloc. French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy,...

Gunman Takes 4 Hostages in Toulouse
 Toulouse Gunman in Custody 
UPDATED

Toulouse Gunman in Custody

All 4 hostages believed to be safe

(Newser) - A self-proclaimed al-Qaeda member has been detained after taking several people hostage in a Toulouse bank today, the BBC reports. The gunman fired a shot after first demanding money; he later released two of his four hostages. French media reported he was in custody after more gunfire was heard; the...

Couple Detained After Torsos Found in Paris Forest

Cops say pair have confessed to killing, dismembering couple

(Newser) - Another gruesome body-parts case, this time in France: Police in Paris say they are questioning a Chinese couple over two headless torsos found in a forest at the edge of the city. After a guide dog found a torso in the Vincennes forest on Friday, the couple turned themselves in...

Socialists Secure Majority in France

Strong showing leaves Francois Hollande free to implement policy

(Newser) - As predicted , the left coalition led by the Socialist Party has cruised to a majority win in the National Assembly's lower house, taking 314 of 577 seats, reports the Wall Street Journal . The win gives the Socialists, who already control the upper-house Senate, total control of the National Assembly—...

3 Veiled Women Barred From Entering France

Saudis sent back to Doha after refusing to lift niqabs for border control

(Newser) - Three Saudi women who refused to removed their face veils when they arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport were barred entry into France and sent back home. Border police asked the women to lift their niqabs so they could ascertain their identity when they arrived from Doha, Qatar, reports Al...

French Left Leads in Parliamentary Election

President Francois Hollande's party takes the lead

(Newser) - Leftist candidates led the first round of France's parliamentary elections today, according to polling agencies and partial official results, in a vote that is crucial to President Francois Hollande's Socialist agenda. Hollande needs leftists to take control of the lower house of parliament—currently dominated by conservatives—to...

French Prez Cuts Retirement Age
 French Prez Cuts 
 Retirement Age 
UPDATED

French Prez Cuts Retirement Age

Hollande rolls minimum retirement back to 60

(Newser) - As US voters and legislators are snipping workers' benefits , a nation on the other side of the pond is taking a different approach. France's new socialist president, François Hollande, is lowering the minimum retirement age by two years, reports the Telegraph . Those who begin work at the age...

Vaccine Could Finally Knock Out Dengue

Disease soared during World War II

(Newser) - It's been decades since dengue fever killed thousands of US and Japanese troops in World War II—yet we still don't have an effective vaccine against it. That could be about to change, Reuters reports: A Paris company is testing just such a drug among children in Thailand,...

Madonna Swastika Infuriates Right-Wing Politician

France's Marine Le Pen vows to sue if Nazi sign appears on her photo again

(Newser) - A furious über right-wing French politician is threatening to sue Madonna if she repeats a swastika stunt in an upcoming Paris concert. The always-provocative singer flashed a slideshow at an Israeli concert last week showing a portion of Marine Le Pen's face, a white Nazi symbol etched between...

Stone-Age Artists: The 1st Animators
 Stone-Age Artists: 
 The 1st Animators 



study says

Stone-Age Artists: The 1st Animators

Chauvet cave paintings tell stories, simulate movement

(Newser) - A Stone-Age Walt Disney? That's what two French researchers see in 30,000-year-old paintings that adorn caves like Chauvet and La Baume Latrone, Science News reports. Long cave paintings depict full stories, they say, and rotating bone disks found at the sites can be twirled to animate images of...

Body-Parts Case: Porn Actor Spotted in Paris

Luka Rocco Magnotta seen several times, often with men, say police

(Newser) - French police think Luka Rocco Magnotta, the porn actor who allegedly chopped up and ate parts of a former boyfriend, is still in Paris, reports the New York Daily News . Police raided one hotel room only to find porn magazines and airsickness bags—but no Magnotta. Local papers report that...

Police Think Body-Parts Suspect Fled to France

Luka Rocco Magnotta rumored to have dated sex killer Karla Homolka

(Newser) - Police believe that Luka Rocco Magnotta fled to France last weekend, after allegedly killing a man and mailing his body parts to Canadian political parties. Magnotta, a 29-year-old male model and porn actor, is still on the loose, the Globe and Mail reports; it's unknown whether he's still...

Hollande Slashes French CEOs' Pay

New prez Hollande will cap salaries at state-owned firms

(Newser) - With France's new socialist president François Hollande moving in, it looks like sky-high CEO salaries are moving out, reports the Wall Street Journal . Hollande has promised to cap executive pay at the 52 companies owned or partially owned by the state, limiting them to a maximum of 20...

DSK Now Target of Gang-Rape Investigation

Centers on alleged 2010 incident in Washington, DC

(Newser) - More hot water for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and once again it's US-flavored: A French prosecutor today opened a preliminary investigation into an alleged gang rape in Washington, DC, CNN reports. In the course of France's probe into Strauss-Kahn's alleged participation in a prostitution ring, the gang-rape allegations surfaced;...

Stories 1081 - 1100 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser