Author: Elaine Ganley
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France on strike: Power cuts, schools shut, no Eiffel Tower
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PARIS • French union activists cut electricity to nearly 100,000 homes or offices. Eiffel Tower staff walked off the job. Even Paris opera workers joined in Tuesday’s nationwide protests across France, singing an aria of anger as workers rallied against the government’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64. Despite 13 days of crippling…
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Massive fire engulfs beloved Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
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PARIS • A massive fire engulfed the upper reaches of Paris’ soaring Notre Dame Cathedral as it was undergoing renovations Monday, threatening one of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western world as tourists and Parisians looked on aghast from the streets below. The blaze collapsed the cathedral’s spire and spread to one of its…
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Fire ravages soaring Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris left aghast
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PARIS (AP) — A fire swept across the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral while the soaring Paris landmark was under renovations Monday, collapsing its spire and threatening one of the world’s greatest architectural treasures as locals and tourists watched aghast from the streets. The French president pledged to rebuild a cathedral that he called…
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Macron to break silence, address French nation amid protests
PARIS • Pressure mounted on French President Emmanuel Macron to announce concrete measures to calm protests marked by violence when he addresses the nation Monday evening, and breaks a long silence widely seen as aggravating a crisis that has shaken the government and the whole country. The president will consult in the morning with an…
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Riot in Paris: 135 hurt in protests; 1,000 detained
PARIS — The rumble of armored police trucks and the hiss of tear gas filled central Paris on Saturday, as French riot police fought to contain thousands of yellow-vested protesters venting their anger against the government in a movement that has grown more violent by the week. A ring of steel surrounded the president’s Elysee…
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Renault board meets after arrest of CEO Ghosn in Japan
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PARIS • Carlos Ghosn will remain chairman and CEO of Renault despite being detained in Japan on allegations he misused assets of partner Nissan Motor Co. and under-reported millions of dollars in income. The French carmaker’s board of directors announced its decision after an emergency meeting in Paris on Tuesday. The board, however, said it…
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Man attacks Paris police with tool at Notre Dame ‘for Syria’
PARIS — An assailant wielding a hammer attacked Paris police guarding Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday, crying “This is for Syria!” before being shot and wounded by officers outside one of France’s most popular tourist sites. At least 600 people were blocked inside the iconic 12th century church while police first secured the streets around…
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Champs-Elysees gunman had long criminal record, praised IS
PARIS — The gunman who shot and killed a police officer on the famed Champs-Elysees just days before the French presidential vote spent 14 years in prison, including for attacking other officers, Frances’s anti-terrorism prosecutor said Friday — a lengthy criminal history that gave a jolt to an already nail-biting election and fueled growing security…
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France marks Paris attacks anniversary with somber silence
PARIS — France marked the anniversary of Islamic extremists’ coordinated attacks on Paris with a somber silence on Sunday that was broken only by voices reciting the names of the 130 slain, and the son of the first person to die stressing the importance of integration. Michael Dias lauded the lessons his father Manuel, an…
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2 attackers slay priest in Normandy church, are shot dead
PARIS — Two attackers invaded a church Tuesday during morning Mass near the Normandy city of Rouen, killing an 84-year-old priest by slitting his throat and taking hostages before being shot and killed by police, French officials said. Another person inside the church was seriously injured and is hovering between life and death, Interior Ministry…