Page 8 - Paris

Soup thrown at Mona Lisa in Louvre Paris; da Vinci's artwork 'safe'

According to the Louvre museum officials, the artwork, guarded by a glass shield, did not face any damage. The Paris museum plans to lodge a complaint against the protestors

Macron seeks to refresh his presidency, says country has 'aces' to succeed

President Emmanuel Macron used a prime-time news conference ON Tuesday to lay out broad plans to strengthen and better prepare France for global crises, saying the country has "all the aces to succeed". The press conference was Macron's latest effort to reinvigorate his presidency after a series of bruising domestic battles, notably about France's retirement age and how to better control immigration, and riots last year that swept hundreds of cities, towns and villages after the fatal police shooting of a teenager. Now, Macron is hoping to hit reset and make a fresh start in a year when France will be in the global spotlight as host of the Summer Olympics in Paris. Last week, Macron installed a new prime minister, France's youngest ever, and new ministers -- also part of a renewed drive by Macron to infuse his leadership with renewed energy. On Tuesday night, the new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal (34) and Cabinet members looked on, seated together to one side, as Macron held court in

French PM Elisabeth Borne resigns amid political turmoil over Macron's immigration law

Punia urges govt to restart wrestling activities in view of Paris Olympics

Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia on Saturday urged the Sports Ministry to restart the wrestling activities in the country with just seven months remaining for next year's Paris Games, and said no one seemed to have taken the preparations for the quadrennial showpiece seriously. Wrestling action has come to a standstill for the last several months owing to the turmoil within the fraternity following the grapplers' protests against former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Even the election of a new Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) committee could not restore normalcy as the Sports Ministry suspended the Sanjay Singh-led panel citing the violation of its own constitution in announcing the national U-15 and U-20 Championships. "Wrestling activities have come to a standstill for the last several months. Neither has any nationals been held nor have any camps been organised to prepare the players (for Paris Olympics)," Punia wrote on his 'X' account. Punia, who had decided to return

Push to safeguard Paris Olympics promises of jobs, new starts after riots

With a name that doesn't ring old-school French like Jean, Pierre or Jacques, and a home address in a tough suburb of Paris where riots flared, Salah Benkadmir is discovering how hard it can be to make prospective employers in France see beyond their prejudices. Despite having a high school diploma in sales and work experience as a vendor on his resume, the 19-year-old job seeker says that when he sends it to stores making hires, often no one calls him back. I feel like I've got a label stuck to me. It is very unpleasant," he says. But with the Olympic Games soon to hit Paris, Benkadmir thinks his fortunes may be about to improve. Organizers urgently need thousands of security guards to help keep athletes and spectators safe and reduce the likelihood of another deadly extremist attack in the French capital. Demand for people at checkpoints, to scan tickets and help manage crowds is so great that France's state employment agency is offering free and expedited security guard training

'Donkey' flight, stranded in France, lands in Mumbai. Here is all we know

The Airbus A340, carrying 303 passengers, had taken off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was grounded at the Vatry airport

Grounded plane with 303 passengers, mostly Indians, allowed to leave France

A Nicaragua-bound flight carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, was allowed to resume its journey on Monday after three days of grounding by the French authorities at an airport near Paris over suspected "human trafficking", according to local media reports on Sunday. After authorising the plane to leave, the French judges chose to cancel the hearings of the over 300 passengers due to irregularities in the procedure, BFM TV, a French news broadcast television and radio network, reported. Four French judges earlier in the day began questioning the 303 passengers detained by French authorities at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, since Thursday over suspected "human trafficking". The hearings were conducted as part of the investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor's office on suspicion of human trafficking. The plane is expected to take off again on Monday morning. Its destination is not yet known. It could travel to India, where the passengers are from, to Nicaragua, its ...

Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh to host World Expo 2030, beats S Korea

Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh was chosen on Tuesday to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out South Korean port city Busan and Rome for an event expected to draw millions of visitors. Riyadh was picked by a majority of 119 out of 165 votes by the member states of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions.

Paris mayor quitting Musk's 'global sewer' platform X ahead of Olympics

The mayor of future Olympic host city Paris says she is quitting X, accusing Elon Musk 's platform previously known as Twitter of spreading disinformation and hatred and of becoming a gigantic global sewer that is toxic for democracy and constructive debate. With its thousands of anonymous accounts and its troll farms, life on Twitter is the exact opposite of democratic life, Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in a long post titled, Why I am leaving Twitter. I refuse to endorse this evil scheme, she wrote. An Associated Press request for comment emailed to X got an automated reply, Busy now, please check back later. Hidalgo's office said posts on Monday in French and English that announced her departure from X would be the Socialist mayor's last and that she will then close her account which has 1.5 million followers at the end of the week. Her office said that Paris City Hall is keeping its own separate account on X. Hidalgo's withdrawal from X follows a fractious period for the mayor. S

French military to send 15,000 soldiers to security ops for Paris Olympics

France's military is planning to contribute 15,000 soldiers to the massive security operation for next year's Paris Olympics, an army general involved in the preparations said Thursday. The bulk of the military force nearly 10,000 troops will be deployed in the Paris region, where most Olympic events will be concentrated, said Gen Christophe Abad, the military governor of Paris who serves as military adviser to the French capital's police chief. Military forces will also be employed for the games as far as 15,000 km (nearly 10,000 miles) away in Tahiti, where navy vessels will safeguard the venue there for Olympic surfing. In Paris, a temporary military camp for 5,000 troops will be set up in a park in the southeast of the capital, putting the force close to the city's Olympic sites, Abad said. The security operation for the July 26 to Aug 11 Olympics, and Paralympic Games that follow, is unprecedented in scale for France. Tens of thousands of police officers and private security

Western, Arab officials gather in Paris to provide aid to civilians in Gaza

Officials from Western and Arab nations, the United Nations and nongovernmental organisations are gathering Thursday in Paris for a conference on how to provide aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip during Israel's war with Hamas, including proposals for a humanitarian maritime corridor and floating field hospitals. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has called for a humanitarian pause in the war, wants the conference to address the besieged Palestinian enclave's growing needs including food, water, health supplies, electricity and fuel. Over 50 nations are expected to attend including several European countries, the United States and regional powers like Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf countries, the French presidency said. Also attending is Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. Israeli authorities won't participate in Thursday's conference, the Elysee said. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the UN's top aid official and the president of the International ...

Louvre Museum in Paris evacuated after threat, France under high alert

The Louvre Museum in Paris is evacuating all visitors and staff and closing early Saturday because it received a written threat. It said the move was linked to the government's decision to put France on high alert after a fatal school stabbing by a suspected extremist. The Louvre communication service said no one has been hurt and no incident has been reported. Paris police said verifications in the museum are underway. Police officers cordoned off the area as tourists and other visitors streamed out of the museum. The French government raised the threat alert level and is deploying 7,000 troops to increase security after Friday's school attack. The government is also concerned about fallout in France from the war between Israel and Hamas. The Louvre, home to masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, welcomes between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors per day.

Rajnath Singh visits Safran's engine manufacturing facility near Paris

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday visited a jet engine manufacturing facility of French firm Safran near Paris and witnessed latest developments in aero-engine technology. Singh's visit to the facility at Gennevilliers assumed significance as Safran is looking at co-developing a fighter aircraft engine in India under a mega project. The defence minister is visiting France after concluding his trip to Italy. Singh also interacted with a group of CEOs of top French defence companies in Paris and highlighted to them the advantages of co-development and co-production of defence hardware in India that he said could be exported to third countries. The defence ministry said Singh visited the Safran Engine Division's R and D Centre at Gennevilliers near Paris and witnessed the latest developments in aero-engine technology. It said Olivier Andries, the Global CEO of Safran, welcomed the defence minister to the facility and, along with his team, gave a detailed briefing to ...

Hotel prices in Paris surge up to 300% ahead of next year's Olympics

Travelers heading to the French capital can expect to pay about $685 a night for a three-star hotel, compared with around $178 for a typical July stay, according to data from Google

Paris Fashion Week 2023: Aishwarya and niece, Navya Nanda, steal show

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stunned the audience when she walked the ramp at the Paris Fashion Week, organised by French cosmetic giant L'Oreal, alongside Kendal Jenner and Camila Cabello

Olympics 2024: 'There can't be a Russian flag in Paris' - France president

French President Emmanuel Macron said the Russian flag has no place at next year's Paris Olympics because of the war crimes committed by Vladimir Putin's regime in Ukraine. Russia has not been allowed to fly its flag at the Olympics since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. Since then, Russians have been competing at the Summer and Winter Olympics under various names because of doping issues. In an interview with L'Equipe newspaper published Thursday, Macron said he didn't want them to fly their flag in Paris because of the war in Ukraine. Russia, as a country, has no place at a time when it has committed war crimes and deported children, Macron said. The interview was published a day after a Russian missile tore through an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine, killing 17 people and wounding dozens. The IOC has encouraged governing bodies of individual sports to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes without national symbols or flags in Olympic qualifying events. T

Rahul Gandhi leaves for Europe tour; to meet EU lawyers, students: Report

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday left for an almost week-long Europe tour during which he will hold meetings with European Union (EU) lawyers, students and the Indian diaspora, sources said. Gandhi will meet a group of EU lawyers in Brussels on September 7 and also hold a similar meeting in The Hague, they said. According to the sources, the former Congress president will address students at a university in Paris on September 8. He is also slated to participate in a meeting of the Labour Union of France in Paris on September 9. Thereafter, he will visit Norway, where he will address a diaspora event in Oslo on September 10, they said. Gandhi is likely to return by September 11, a day after the G20 summit concludes. The G20 Leaders Summit will be held from September 9-10 in Delhi. India is hosting the G20 summit in its capacity as the current president of the grouping and it is likely to be attended by more than 30 heads of state, top officials from the European Union and .

Eiffel Tower briefly evacuated on Saturday after security threat: Report

These types of situations are rare, a spokeswoman for Sete, the company that manages the iconic tourist attraction, told AFP

Paris-bound Air India flight returns to Delhi after suspected tyre burst

Air India officials said that alternate arrangements are being made for the passengers to reach their destinations

Paris-based Capgemini to invest 2 bn euro in artificial intelligence

The company also said that it plans to double its data and AI teams to 60,000 in the next three years