Getty Images The French scientist who created the abortion pill has died at the age of 98. Étienne-Émile Baulieu helped develop the oral drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone, which has provided millions of women across the world with a safe and inexpensive alternative to a surgical abortion. Dr Baulieu died at his home in…
France’s National Assembly has voted to abolish low-emission zones, a key measure introduced during President Emmanuel Macron’s first term to reduce city pollution. So-called ZFEs (zones à faibles émissions) have been criticised for hitting those who cannot afford less-polluting vehicles the hardest. A handful of MPs from Macron’s party joined opposition parties from the right…
The victims of prolific French paedophile Joel Le Scouarnec have expressed their dismay that the former surgeon’s 20-year prison sentence does not include preventive detention – meaning he could be released from jail in the early 2030s. The 74-year-old was found guilty on Tuesday of sexually abusing hundreds of people, most of them underage patients…
Reuters French ex-surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec has admitted sexually abusing hundreds of patients A verdict is expected on Wendesday in the case of Joel Le Scouarnec, the former surgeon who has admitted sexually abusing hundreds of patients, mostly under age, between 1989 and 2014. Le Scouarnec, 74, has been dubbed France’s most prolific paedophile. He…
French police have arrested more than 20 people following a number of kidnapping plots targeting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and their families. Authorities said the arrests were in connection with investigations into a recent abduction attempt in Nantes and the attempted kidnapping of a woman and child in Paris in May. The incidents have raised concerns about…
French MPs have voted to allow some people in the last stages of a terminal illness the right to assisted dying. The National Assembly approved the bill, which is backed by President Emmanuel Macron, by 305 votes to 199. It will now go to the upper house, the Senate, before a second reading in the…
Iran summoned France’s envoy in Tehran to protest against “insulting” remarks made by the French foreign minister after an Iranian filmmaker won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the prestigious Palme d’Or for his film It Was Just an Accident on Saturday, a political drama inspired by his…
This story contains distressing details from the start Joel Le Scouarnec, a former surgeon on trial in France who has admitted to sexually abusing hundreds of patients, mostly under age, said he considers himself “responsible” for the death of two of his victims. Over the last few weeks, the court was shown the photos of…
At least three people have died in floods caused by heavy rainfall and storms which have battered southern France since Monday. The bodies of an elderly couple were found in the seaside resort town of Le Lavandou, while another person died after becoming trapped in a car in Vidauban, local authorities reported on Tuesday. The…
Hugh Schofield Paris correspondent FRENCH PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE The contraband phones are the size of a cigarette lighter French authorities have launched a nationwide hunt for thousands of tiny Chinese-made telephones used by convicts to continue criminal activities from inside prison. The telephones, no bigger than a cigarette-lighter, are almost entirely plastic, and have a reputation…
