Jul 16 Eiffel Tower reopens and now requires COVID passes By Deborah Gouffran The "Iron Lady" of Paris was ordered shut in October as France battled its second virus surge of the pandemic. It opened to the public Friday with "Welcome" messages flashing in multiple languages. Continue reading
Jun 26 Big Pride parade in Paris; Turkish police stop marchers By Frances D'Emilio, John Leicester, Associated Press Authorities have banned Istanbul Pride events since 2015, citing public security, and more recently, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The Cumhuriyet newspaper said at least 25 people were detained. Continue reading
May 15 Police fire tear gas on banned Palestinian march in Paris By Elaine Ganley, Associated Press French riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons Saturday in Paris as protesters supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip defied a ban on marching in the French capital. Continue reading
Nov 30 Protests in France over proposed limits on filming police By Associated Press French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is pushing a new security bill that makes it illegal to publish images of police officers with intent to cause them harm, amid other measures. Continue reading
Nov 29 Court orders France to rethink 30-person limit on worship By Associated Press he measure took effect this weekend as France relaxes some virus restrictions, but it faced opposition by places of worship and the faithful for being arbitrary and unreasonable. Even before the ruling, several bishops had announced they would not enforce… Continue reading
Oct 17 Suspect in teacher’s beheading in France was Chechen teen By Thomas Adamson, Associated Press France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said authorities investigating the killing of Samuel Paty in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on Friday arrested nine suspects, including the teen's grandfather, parents and 17-year-old brother. Continue reading
Oct 14 Activist fined for dislodging African art from Paris museum By Associated Press He streamed the incident online in a protest against colonial-era injustice like the plundering of African art. Diyabanza's museum action took place in June, amid global protests against racial injustice and colonial-era wrongs. Continue reading
Sep 29 Suspect says prophet caricatures prompted Paris stabbings By Associated Press France’s counterterrorism prosecutor says the chief suspect in a double stabbing in Paris has claimed he acted out of anger over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad recently republished by satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Continue reading
Aug 12 Paris Marathon canceled after coronavirus hits travel plans By Associated Press The race was originally due to take place in April but was then moved to October. Organizers said they'd recently tried to rearrange the race for November but continuing travel restrictions made that unrealistic. Continue reading
Aug 03 Notre Dame Cathedral’s organ will undergo a 4-year-long cleaning By Nadine Achoui-Lesage, Angela Charlton, Associated Press The mammoth task of dismantling, cleaning and re-assembling France’s largest musical instrument started Monday and is expected to last nearly four years. Amazingly, the 8,000-pipe organ survived the 2019 fire that consumed the cathedral’s roof and toppled its spire. Continue reading