LILLE, France (AFP) — A bust of France’s wartime resistance leader and later president Charles de Gaulle has been vandalised in northern France, local officials said Monday, prompting outrage from right-wing politicians. The bust of de Gaulle in the northern town of Hautmont near the Belgian border was splashed with bright orange paint and the back of its pedestal daubed with the slogan “slaver”. The act comes as statues are being toppled and removed globally […]
Tag: France
French city adds info plaques to slave trader street names
BORDEAUX, France (AFP) — As statues of slave traders and colonial figures tumble worldwide in a wave of anger against racism, Bordeaux wants to inform the public with a different tactic. Streets named after slave traders in the southwestern French city, known for its red wine but also one with a colonial past, are getting additional information plaques put up but will not be renamed, a local official said. Protesters against police brutality and racism […]
Eiffel Tower to reopen to public on June 25
PARIS, France (AFP) — The Eiffel Tower, one of the most visited sites in Paris, will reopen to the public on June 25 more than three months after shuttering in France’s coronavirus lockdown, its operators said Tuesday. The 10-tonne metal landmark will emerge from its longest closure since World War II with limited visitor numbers at first, and face masks mandatory for all over the age of 11, said the Eiffel Tower website. “At first, […]
French forces kill leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
by Daphné BENOIT and Didier LAURAS Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — France said its forces have killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in a blow to the group behind a string of deadly attacks across the troubled Sahel region. Abdelmalek Droukdel was killed on Thursday in northern Mali near the Algerian border, where the group has bases from which it has carried out attacks and abductions of Westerners in the […]
French police fire tear gas at anti-racism demo in Lille
LILE, France (AFP) — French police fired tear gas to disperse around 2,000 demonstrators protesting against racism and police brutality in the northern city of Lille on Thursday. “No justice, no peace,” the crowd chanted, echoing the protests which have taken place across the United States following the death of unarmed African American George Floyd in the hands of police. The marchers also brandished placards, some in English, bearing slogans now familiar in the US […]
Plastic bubble brings joy to French nursing home
by Elia VAISSIERE PICTURES BY DENIS CHARLET Agence France-Presse BOURBOURG, France (AFP) — Nathalie Szczepaniak caresses the hand of her husband Joseph, a care home resident, as the couple reunites after weeks without a visit because of France’s coronavirus lockdown. But this is no ordinary reunion. The couple meets in an anti-virus “bubble” at Joseph’s nursing home in Bourbourg, northern France, separated by a clear plastic sheet that allows them some physical contact, face-to-face, without the […]
Relief for restaurants as France prepares new lockdown easing
PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government is expected to announce Thursday’s new measures to ease the coronavirus lockdown, allowing restaurants in areas where the outbreak remains contained to open as soon as next week. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will unveil the second phase of his plan to get the country back to work following a meeting with top cabinet members, a government source said, after strict stay-at-home orders were lifted on May 11. But […]
France halts hydroxychloroquine use for COVID-19 cases: govt
by Joseph Schmid PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government said Wednesday that doctors can no longer treat COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, a controversial and potentially harmful drug nonetheless being promoted by US President Donald Trump. The move came after two French advisory bodies and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this week that the drug, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, had been shown to be potentially dangerous in several studies. The urgency […]
France virus toll steadies, 83 new deaths
PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Tuesday reported 83 new deaths in hospital from the coronavirus over the last 24 hours as key indicators remained steady two weeks into the relaxation of a lockdown. A total of 28,530 deaths have now been recorded in France since the epidemic began, the health ministry said in a statement. This includes a slight revising down by 10 of the numbers who have died in nursing homes. The numbers […]
French churches reopen as coronavirus restrictions loosened
by Taimaz SZIRNIKS with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — French churches were preparing to hold their first Sunday masses in more than two months after the government bowed to a ruling that they should be reopened — provided proper precautions were taken. Nearly two weeks into the relaxation of its shutdown, the government finally allowed churches, mosques and synagogues to reopen. Last Monday, the France’s Council of State, which instructs […]
France’s daily virus toll dips to 83, no sign of second wave
PARIS, France (AFP) — The number of coronavirus deaths registered in France over the last 24 hours dipped to 83 on Thursday, as a top doctor said he was not seeing a second wave of infections despite the country easing its lockdown. The latest deaths in hospitals and nursing homes brought France’s total toll from the pandemic to 28,215, the health ministry said in a statement. The trends remained optimistic, with 49 fewer people in […]
Thousands of schools reopen as France eases virus lockdown
by Andrea GRAELLS TEMPEL et Maryam EL HAMMOUCHI avec les bureaux de l’AFP en région Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Thousands of schools reopened throughout France on Tuesday as the government eases its coronavirus lockdown rules despite some fears of a second waves of infections. According to official figures there were 348 new COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the national total to 26,991. Primary and nursery schools reopened however, with teachers wearing face […]





