Page 19 - France

Rape trial in France will hear woman's testimony of decade-long abuse

A woman who says she was drugged by her now ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she was unconscious is expected to testify Thursday before a panel of French judges on her decade-long ordeal. Her former spouse, Dominique Plicot, now 71, and 50 other men are standing trial on charges of rape and face up to 20 years in prison. The trial started on Monday in the southern city of Avignon and is expected to run until December. Gisle Plicot and her husband of 50 years were living in their family home in a small town in Provence with their three children. But in late 2020, her world collapsed. A security agent caught her husband taking photos of women's crotches in a supermarket, leading investigators to search Dominique Plicot's phone and computer, where they found thousands of photographs and videos of men appearing to rape his then-wife, Gisle, in their home while she appears to be unconscious. The Associated Press doesn't generally identify victims of sexual abuse

At least 13 dead after boat with migrants sinks in waters off north France

The mayor of a French coastal town being used in a rescue operation says 13 migrants are dead after their boat ripped apart Tuesday during an attempted crossing of the English Channel. Dozens of people plunged into the treacherous waters. Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open, said Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel near the fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where a first-aid post was set up to treat victims. It's a big drama.

France's Atos cuts financial targets, says restructuring still on track

Atos said it now forecast a full-year 2024 group revenue of 9.7 billion euros ($10.72 billion), down from 9.8 billion euros previously estimated

Giving Telegram CEO French citizenship was good thing: Emmanuel Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his decision to give special fast-track citizenship to Telegram messaging app CEO Pavel Durov, who is now under preliminary charges in France over alleged criminal activity on his popular platform. Macron on Thursday also said he was unaware that Durov was coming to France before his surprise weekend arrest, and had no plans to meet with him. Free-speech advocates, far-right figures and authoritarian governments around the world have spoken out in Durov's defence and criticised French authorities over the case. Durov was freed on 5 million euro bail but barred from leaving France and ordered to report to a police station twice a week pending further investigation. French prosecutors accuse Durov of complicity in allowing drug trafficking and sharing of sexual images of children on Telegram, and of refusing to cooperate with authorities investigating illegal activity on the app. Durov's lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski told French media, It

France charges Telegram CEO Pavel Durov with child pornography, drug crimes

Telegram is also facing accusations of not cooperating with authorities by withholding information, engaging in money laundering

Lawyer for Telegram CEO Pavel Durov dismisses allegations as absurd

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement the judge found there were grounds to formally investigate Durov

Telegram founder Durov's various citizenships add mystery to his detention

Over more than a decade, the founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram has amassed various different citizenships, something that's only added to the mystery surrounding his detention in France. Those passports provided Pavel Durov protection after he created and ran Telegram as a self-proclaimed free-speech absolutist. The app has been used by some to plan protests in repressive governments like in Iran and his native Russia. However, Western governments allege Telegram aided the work of drug traffickers, money launderers, militant groups and child pornographers. "To be truly free, you should be ready to risk everything for freedom," Durov once wrote on Instagram, interspersed between images of himself shirtless with the skyscrapers of Dubai or the ruins of Mada'in Saleh in Saudi Arabia behind him. That risk now appears to have caught up with him, despite passports from Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, and his wealth, estimated by Forbes to b

Pavel Durov's arrest highlights Russia's love-hate bond with Telegram

France's arrest last weekend of Telegram's billionaire founder Pavel Durov, who fled Russia for Dubai a decade ago, has been almost universally condemned in his native country

Telegram CEO Durov to face off with Judge when four-day detention ends

Under local laws, Durov's detention can't last beyond 8 p.m. Paris time - a total of 96 hours of police questioning

British PM Keir Starmer in Berlin for talks to reset ties with Europe

Military support for Ukraine if former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House early next year.

From Zuckerberg of Russia to wanted man, the journey of Pavel Durov

Durov said he had begun building Telegram to be a more secure way to communicate after Russian security forces showed up at his apartment around 2011

Russia-France ties hit new low after Telegram boss' arrest, says Moscow

Macron denies Russian charge of political motives

Telegram under scanner for extortion, gambling; messaging app may face ban

Investigation against Telegram is being conducted by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

France's Marcon rejects left-wing govt fearing 'institutional stability'

However, Macron's party, along with the conservatives and the far right, have promised to vote no confidence in a left-wing government

Alleged child protection failures on app led to Telegram CEO's detention

The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire was stopped on Saturday at Le Bourget airport north of Paris, according to a statement from Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested at Paris airport for alleged offences

The 39-year-old billionaire is suspected of failing to take steps to prevent criminal use of Telegram, AFP said, adding he's expected to appear in court on Sunday

Arrest of Telegram's head not a political decision: France President Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the arrest in France of the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn't a political move but part of an independent investigation. In France's first public comment on the arrest, Macron posted on the social media platform X that his country is deeply committed to freedom of expression but freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights. He said the arrest is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter. French media reported that Durov was detained at a Paris airport on Saturday on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses.

Yet to see accusations against Telegram founder Pavel Durov: Kremlin

Durov, who has dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship, was arrested as part of a preliminary police investigation into allegedly allowing wide range of crimes to be committed using Telegram

Telegram questions grounds of CEO's detention, says it abides by EU laws

Telegram issued a statement on its platform and on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying the Dubai-based company abides by European laws

French authorities arrest suspect behind arson attack at synagogue

French police apprehended and detained the suspect behind the arson attack on a synagogue in a southwestern Mediterranean town that injured a police officer, the country's acting interior minister said early Sunday. Two cars parked at the Beth Yaacov synagogue complex in the seaside resort town of La Grande Motte near Montpellier were set ablaze just after 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) Saturday, the National Antiterrorism Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Saturday. The alleged perpetrator of the arson attack on the synagogue has been arrested," Gerald Darmanin, the acting interior minister, said in a post on X. He visited the site on Saturday afternoon along with acting Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and met with local officials and the synagogue staff. Darmanin also hailed the professional conduct of police forces and its elite intervention unit despite the gunfire during the operation. He did not provide further information. Firefighters discovered additional fires at two entrances to th