Author: Cyprien Leduc

Already addressed in Rachid Bouchareb’s stirring Days of Glory from 2006, the overlooked wartime contributions of France’s African troops get another airing in this new drama. This time, the film deals with the Senegalese corps rather than Maghrebi, and the industry has moved on enough to have a bona fide superstar of that heritage toplining, in the shape of Omar Sy. On its French release, Sy was hung out to dry in the press for suggesting that the west paid disproportionate attention to conflicts close to home, such as the war in Ukraine, rather than ones in the global south. How this timid…

Five people have been charged over 90 burglaries in the Paris region in which acid was used to break the locks on apartment doors. Four of the suspects have been held in pre-trial detention since Wednesday and the fifth is being monitored by police, prosecutors in Nanterre, north-west of the French capital, told AFP. In a rare method for break-ins, the robberies were carried out by injecting a corrosive liquid to destroy the locks of apartment doors, prosecutors and a police source said. An investigation was launched last year after a July 2022 surge in burglaries using the technique in the Île-de-France…

The explosion occurred on the territory of the Zagorsk optical-mechanical plant in Sergiev Posad. Photographs of eyewitnesses were associated with him, in which a powerful column of smoke was visible on the morning of August 9. This was reported by TASS with reference to emergency services, the information was confirmed by local authorities. According to the city administration, now the plant “has announced a total evacuation of all buildings and workshops, including rented ones. There are a lot of buildings where glass flew out. The governor of the region Andrey Vorobyov left for the place. There is no official information about the victims, but…

On Wednesday, August 9, Crimean publics report explosions in the Dzhankoy region. Shortly before that, they reported that the Crimean bridge was blocked and published a video. The Sevastopol Bay was shrouded in smoke, photos of local publics testify. The “authorities” appointed by the Russian Federation claim that this fleet is conducting exercises on radiation, chemical and biological protection. “The smell is unpleasant, but it is absolutely safe,” they say. We wrote that the Crimean bridge was protected from surface and underwater drones with special barriers. And also that earlier the occupying authorities stated that a surface drone was discovered near Sevastopol.…

Les Soulèvements de La Terre uses direct action aimed at big business interests The French government is to shut down a climate protest group over a series of recent demonstrations citing risks to public safety, as the environmental activists called the decision “political and particularly worrying”. Les Soulèvements de la Terre (Earth Uprising) is an umbrella group of several different environmental activist associations across France. It is seen as leading a new form of more radical climate action in Europe with high-profile direct action often aimed at big business interests, state projects and large-scale farming. The group was part of a…

The longer Russia’s invasion drags on, the more obvious it becomes that the international powers involved are pursuing interests other than the protection of Ukraine. In the United States, for example, the upcoming Republican primaries are set to turn an international crisis into part of the American culture wars. Every contender for the GOP nomination will have to be extremely careful not to appear supportive of yet another foreign war after the painful memories of Iraq and Afghanistan. Similar forces are at play within the EU. It has been an open secret since French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China…

France has been criticised by the United Nations Human Rights Council for increased police violence, including against protesters, as widespread Labour Day demonstrations take over the country. France must “take measures to, in a transparent manner, address allegations regarding excessive use of force by police and gendarmerie against protesters during demonstrations”, Sweden’s representative told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, when France marks its annual Labour Day. Besides the recent tensions between police forces and demonstrators at the country’s pension-reform protests, rights groups have also previously pointed out the extensive scale of police violence in France during the 2018 “gilets…

The Regional Council of Hauts-de-France supports the full realization of the rights of the people of Artsakh and, in particular, the right to self-determination, Xavier Bertrand, President of the regional council of Hauts-de-France, and Sergey Ghazaryan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, signed a joint statement at the Artsakh Representative Office in Yerevan. Officials who have arrived from France are calling on the international community to impose sanctions on the Azerbaijani regime as long as Baku refuses to comply with the decision of the UN International Court of Justice to ensure the two-way movement of people and goods through the…

American Abrams tanks will not take part in this UAF counteroffensive. Ukrainian crews have already gone to the exercises This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to a statement by Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov during a press conference. He noted that Ukraine received modern weapons systems, especially in terms of the “armored fist”. We are talking about armored vehicles and tanks, in particular Leopard 2 and Challenger 2. According to Reznikov, the promised Leopard 1 tanks and American Abrams will be provided later. “The Abrams tanks will not have time to take part in this counteroffensive, but our crews have already gone to training. But,…

Toulouse showed no stage fright in its first French Cup final, blitzing holder Nantes in the opening minutes to lift its first trophy after an impressive 5-1 victory on Saturday. Logan Costa was the unexpected star at Stade de France. The center back played only three games in the French league this season but gave Toulouse a quick 2-0 lead. Thijs Dallinga also scored twice to give them a four-goal cushion by halftime. The triumph is the result of a data-driven strategy for a club operating with a small budget and that was still playing in the second division a year ago.…