Category: France

French Actor Gerard Depardieu Charged With Rape in Revived Case

PARIS—The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday that French actor Gerard Depardieu was charged in December with rape and sexual assault after authorities revived a 2018 investigation that was initially dropped. The office told The Associated Press that Depardieu was not detained when he was handed the preliminary charges on Dec. 16, 2020. The prosecutor’s…


Sudanese Man Kills French Immigration Official After Asylum Bid Rejected

PARIS—A Sudanese asylum seeker stabbed and killed an employee at a migrant center in the southern French city of Pau on Friday after his request for political asylum was rejected, authorities said. The killer had no terrorist motives, the Pau prosecutor said on Saturday. Prosecutor Cecile Gensac said that the assailant was not on a…


Google Fined $1.3 Million for Misleading French Hotel Rankings

PARIS—Google has agreed to pay a fine of 1.1 million euros ($1.3 million) after French authorities concluded the search engine displayed “misleading” rankings for French hotels. Previously, Google used the official source Atout France as well as input from other hotel-industry websites in its algorithm to rank hotels from one to five stars. After receiving…


As New Variants Spread in France, Some Want a 3rd Lockdown

PARIS—New virus variants are spreading fast in multiple regions of France, causing local authorities to order tougher mask rules and a curfew crackdown around the English Channel coast, and prompting growing calls for a new lockdown in the east. Although France closed its borders with Britain in December, the virus variant first identified in Kent,…


Eiffel Tower Needs Blowtorch for Ice as Snow Blankets Europe

PARIS—Workers at the Eiffel Tower used a blowtorch to melt the ice collecting on its surfaces and snow was blocking roads and halting trains and school buses Wednesday across northern France. Amid a European cold snap, areas in Normandy and Brittany unused to such icy conditions were closing highways for lack of snow-clearing equipment. In…


France’s New COVID-19 Hospitalisations and ICU Treatments Rise Sharply

PARIS—The number of people hospitalised in France for COVID-19 rose by more than a 1,000 over the last two days, a trend unseen since Nov 16, and the number of patients in intensive care units for the disease exceeded 3,000 for the first time since Dec 9. A growing number of medical experts have called…


France’s New COVID-19 Hospitalizations and ICU Treatments Rise Sharply

PARIS—The number of people hospitalized in France for COVID-19 rose by more than a 1,000 over the last two days, a trend unseen since Nov 16, and the number of patients in intensive care units for the disease exceeded 3,000 for the first time since Dec 9. A growing number of medical experts have called…


France Tells Its Citizens: Fabric Masks Not Enough to Protect From COVID-19

PARIS—The French government is now recommending that people wear surgical masks in public because they offer better protection from COVID-19 transmission than fabric face coverings, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday. France already requires masks to be worn in public places, but until now has not made recommendations about the type of masks. French…


France Starts 6 p.m. Curfew to Slow Coronavirus

PARIS—Cities, towns, and villages across France were practically empty on Saturday as residents stayed home and businesses shut to observe a nationwide curfew intended to help stem the spread of coronavirus, especially a more infectious variant. The virus has killed 70,000 people in France, the seventh highest toll in the world, and the government is…


French City of Marseille Gets Tougher Curfew As New COVID-19 Variant Discovered

PARIS—France has imposed a stricter evening curfew in Marseille after authorities said the new variant of the COVID-19 virus initially found in the UK had been discovered in the Mediterranean city. Marseille joined other French cities such as Strasbourg and Dijon in having its curfew moved forward to 6 p.m. from 8 p.m., and running…