Author: Charlot Renaud

A man has been arrested in Paris after jumping off the Eiffel Tower with a parachute and landing in a nearby stadium. The man, an experienced climber, entered the tower’s perimeter shortly after 5am (4am BST) on Thursday, well before its official opening. He was quickly detected by guards, according to the site’s operator, Sete, but managed to get to the top before anybody could stop him, carrying the parachute in a backpack. Once he got near the top of the tower, which is 330 metres tall, he jumped and landed nearby, where he was arrested for endangering the lives of others,…

Over the past 24 hours, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had partial success on the Southern Front, namely near Orekhovo in the direction of Verbovoye, as well as on the Vremievsky ledge in the vicinity of Pleasant and Harvest . This was announced by the speaker of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andrey Kovalev. The Russian Federation here tried unsuccessfully to counterattack near Staromayorsky. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are also consolidated on the achieved lines south of Bakhmut and hold back the Russian offensive in the Kupyansk and Liman directions. The Russians counterattacked in the vicinity of…

There will be 10,000 torchbearers to carry the Olympic flame as it passes through some 60 French departments ahead of the 2024 Games, Paris Olympic organisers announced on Tuesday.  After the flame is lit in the traditional ceremony in Olympia, Greece, it will arrive by sea in Marseille aboard the three-master Belem on May 8. From there it will travel across France on its way to the Olympic opening ceremony in the capital on July 26. There has been speculation that the Olympic flame will be placed on the Eiffel Tower, but the president of the organising committee, Tony Estanguet, told a press conference the…

A coalition of French environmental charities on Thursday accused the French state of negligence in regulating the use of pesticides, in a landmark legal case. The five organisations allege the French state is indirectly responsible for the sharp decline in insect, bird and other animal populations which an increasing body of scientific research shows is linked to pesticide use and intensive farming. In a first court hearing at the Paris administrative court, the NGOs received an initial boost, with the public rapporteur suggesting judges confirm several faults on the part of the state, The rapporteur suggested ordering the government “to put an end to all the shortcomings that…

Chaos broke out on the streets of Paris today, as French protests rioted over Emmanuel Macron’s plans to reform the country’s state pension. Police were pelted with projectiles, ride-sharing bicycles were torched and bus stops smashed up as a union-led march got underway from the central Place de la Republique. Macron is facing a sustained period of civil unrest with intense anger felt among French workers at legislation to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. As many as a million people are thought to have taken to the streets in Paris and other cities across France in anger.…

On its sprawling 800km frontline, Russia is preparing for a decisive battle. As the sloppy winter mud begins to dry, Russia is preparing for a decisive battle across its front, which is three lines deep in places. Kyiv wants to seize the initiative and beat back the invader after an underwhelming Russian offensive achieved limited results last year. But Moscow has learned from past failures and is once again counting on a long, grinding war it believes it can win. Russia’s fortifications extend from Kherson in the south all the way to northeastern Ukraine, a stretch of some 800 km.…

France is a country that embraces intellectual opposites. It loves both Cartesian rationalism and homeopathic quackery, it  hates wealth yet specialises in luxury, and its egalitarian republic oftenfeels like a monarchy. Now the French are appropriately plunged into a bout of paradoxical pessimism, bemoaning what’s been called the worst political crisis since the Algerian War as social unrest festers, consumer confidence sinks and President Emmanuel Macron’s approval ratings tumble to all-time lows after an unpopular hike to the retirement age to 64 from 62. Yet the hard data suggest things are… actually quite good. Last week’s figures show France’s economy rebounded during the first three months of the year — up 0.2 percent, better than Germany though behind tourism-driven Spain — even…

Business sentiment declined only slightly in March despite the social tensions surrounding the pension reform. This confirms that activity in France is resilient, even if the outlook for the coming quarters remains moderate Slight decrease in business climate In France, the business climate decreased slightly in March, to 103 compared to 104 in February. The indicator is still above its long-term average and has been remarkably stable since June, fluctuating between 102 and 104. The decrease in March can be explained by the fact that in all sectors business leaders are slightly less optimistic about past activity and expected activity.…

One of Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s largest known works, whose discovery behind the television room door of a house in northern France amazed the art world, has fetched 780,000 euros ($845,000) at auction in Paris One of Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s largest known works, whose discovery behind the television room door of a house in northern France amazed the art world, fetched 780,000 euros ($845,000) at auction in Paris Tuesday. The 17th century oil painting — which experts call “exceptional” and was long considered a fake by its owners — was discovered by chance in December…

Protesters on the tracks at a Paris rail station. Smoke bombs let off at Biarritz airport. Anger at French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms showed no sign of letting up on Tuesday as the nation prepared for a 10th day of nationwide demonstrations. Sweeping protests have paralyzed major services across the country in recent weeks over Macron’s proposal to raise the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64, in a move that as riled opposition lawmakers and trade unions. Up to 900,000 protesters were expected to join 240 rallies planned throughout France on Tuesday, with 100,000 protesters anticipated to fill the streets…