LYON, France (AFP) — Catholic Church’s Pope Francis has rejected the resignation of French cardinal Philippe Barbarin who was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence this month for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority, prompting surprise among Church leaders and condemnation from victims. The pope’s decision, announced by Barbarin in a statement and confirmed by the Vatican, comes ahead of a judicial appeal of the case. But it also […]
Tag: France
Paris police chief sacked after Champs-Elysees rioting
by Marc Preel and Joseph Schmid PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government sacked the top police official in Paris on Monday following another weekend of rioting in the capital during “yellow vest” protests which have put President Emmanuel Macron on the defensive. The police’s failure to keep the Paris protests from spiralling out of control over the weekend again cast a harsh spotlight on their tactics. About 5,000 police were deployed in the capital […]
Convicted French cardinal Barbarin to tender resignation to pope
by Catherine MARCIANO Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who received a six-month suspended jail sentence for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority, is to meet the Catholic Church’s Pope Francis at the Vatican to tender his resignation on Monday. The private meeting is expected to take place around 0900 GMT, according to his diocese, with the pontiff to decide within weeks whether to […]
Boeing suspends 737 MAX deliveries as France probes black boxes
by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US aerospace giant Boeing said Thursday it was suspending deliveries of its top-selling 737 MAX as French investigators took delivery of the black boxes from the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 passengers and crew. The MAX has been grounded worldwide following the disaster — the second involving the model in five months — and the fallout has left the company, regulators and airlines scrambling to […]
French cardinal convicted over sex abuse cover-up
by Pierre PRATABUY / Alexandre GROSBOIS Agence France Presse by Pierre PRATABUY / Alexandre GROSBOIS Agence France Presse LYON, France (AFP) — The archbishop of Lyon Thursday announced he was resigning just hours after being handed a six-month suspended jail sentence for failing to report sex abuse in a case that has rocked the French Catholic Church and added to the Vatican’s woes. Philippe Barbarin, 68, is the most senior French cleric caught up […]
French court to rule on cardinal accused of sex abuse cover-up
LYON, France (AFP) — A French court on Thursday will deliver its verdict in the case of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, accused of covering up sexual abuse of minors by one of his priests. The 68-year-old archbishop and five former aides went on trial in Lyon at a time when the Catholic Church has been hit by abuse scandals in countries as far afield as Australia, Chile and the United States. The outcome of the […]
Israeli Holocaust survivors fear for French Jews
by Michael Blum Agence France Presse JERUSALEM (AFP) — Like other Holocaust survivors who left France for Israel, Samy Gryn has watched with a sorrow a resurgence of anti-Semitism in the country where he was born. “The situation in France reminds me of the 1930s. I’m really worried,” says Gryn, 78, one of the few survivors of a notorious roundup of Jews in Nazi-occupied Paris. Anti-Semitic acts in France rose by 74 percent in 2018, […]
Ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn makes fresh bail request
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Lawyers for former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn on Thursday filed a fresh bail request for the auto titan who has been detained for more than three months, the Tokyo District Court said. It is the first bail request filed by the 64-year-old since he shook up his legal team as he crafts his defence to three charges of financial misconduct. The former high-flying executive has been in detention since his shock […]
Sala plane did not have commercial licence: investigators
by Dario THUBURN Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The plane carrying footballer Emiliano Sala that crashed in the Channel last month did not have a commercial licence, British investigators said Monday. But the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the journey would have been allowed as a “private” flight in which costs are shared between pilot and passenger. “The basis on which the passenger was being carried on N264DB has not yet been […]
World’s largest Nutella factory reopens after ‘quality defect’
CAEN, France (AFP) — The world’s largest Nutella factory restarted production on Monday after it stopped work for five days as a precautionary measure over a “quality defect”, owner Ferrero’s French branch said. The factory in Normandy, France stopped making the chocolate-and-hazelnut spread due to a “suspected quality defect strictly limited to the production stage,” Ferrero France’s communications service told AFP. It added that the problem was “very early in the process, at the stage […]
Jewish graves vandalized as France rallies against anti-Semitism
PARIS, France (AFP) — Nearly 100 graves were daubed with swastikas at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, authorities said Tuesday, with President Emmanuel Macron vowing to crack down on hate crimes as the country grapples with a surge in anti-Semitic acts. Macron went immediately to the cemetery in Quatzenheim in the Alsace region near Germany, a few hours ahead of nationwide rallies to denounce a surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes. “We shall act, […]
France probes sexual assault claim against Vatican envoy
French prosecutors said Friday they were investigating a sexual assault complaint made against the Vatican’s envoy to Paris in more unwelcome news for the Catholic church as it looks to turn the page on years of scandal. The Catholic Church’s Pope Francis has vowed that the church will no longer ignore abuse allegations, and he removed two prominent cardinals from his inner circle late last year after they were tainted by paedophile scandals. The […]





