'Genius' duo behind French multimillion-euro furniture scam found guilty

France 24

2 days ago

In Syria, women are now obliged to wear burkinis to public beaches. Burkinis are garments that cover the whole body, head to toe. British daily The Times writes that "Liberals fear setback" after the new regulation. This would mean Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa imposing a strict interpretation of Islam in the country, The Times says. The former al Quaeda commander toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December, promising that "Syria will not deeply intrude on personal freedoms" – a promise met with scepticism, the paper writes.
Elsewhere in Syria, discontent is simmering among some supporters of the uprising against the country's ousted dictator. The New York Times writes about Syria's Committee for Civil Peace – a newly founded group cooperating with former Assad supporters to "restore calm". But supporters of the uprising against Assad regime accuse the new leaders of not holding the old regime to account. One source told The New York Times that many of them were hoping for "punishment of those who committed war crimes". The committee, however, says it's working to de-escalate tensions with Syria's minorities. But instead, the paper says it re-opens a simmering dilemma – "how to achieve justice and reconciliation in a population that endured decades of violent repression".
Next, a post-Brexit deal has been reached over the future of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The British daily The Guardian writes that the deal between the UK and Spain is historic. Gibraltar is a disputed territory, located at the bottom of Spain. The new deal will make travel across the border with Spain much easier, with no land border checks. That's good news for the 15,000 people who cross the border every day. Many of them live in Spain but work in Gibraltar. The Times of London asks whether the deal is a "post-Brexit success", four years in the making. It could repair rocky relations, says the article, but it will be "closely scrutinised by Eurosceptics". Spanish daily El Periodico writes that "on paper" the deal puts an end to old disputes. With the fence finally demolished, Gibraltar will be more part of Spain and its territory will be "less alien" to Spanish people. It calls the deal a "moral victory" for Spain and a "concession" from the British side. De facto sovereignty, however, remains British, the paper reminds us.
In France, a multimillion-euro furniture scam has been punished. The Guardian headlines "French furniture expert and restorer guilty of fake 18th-century chair scam". The two men faked furniture, including chairs, and claimed they were used by historic figures like Marie Antoinette. The Guardian calls it "one of the biggest forgery scandals to hit the French art world for decades". The two men scammed a Qatari prince and – most notably – the Palace of Versailles. French daily Le Télégramme writes that the "two genius forgers were convicted". Bill Pallot, the art expert in question, was sentenced to four years in prison, mostly suspended, and will have to pay a €200,000 fine. During the trial, he said: "We thought we'd do it for fun, to see if the art market could see (...). It went like clockwork". In its title, Le Parisien uses his nickname - "le Père la chaise" - a wordplay on the famous Parisian cemetery. The nickname literally means "the father chair" or the father of chairs. Pallot got that nickname after writing a book about seats and chairs of the 18th century. That's where he got his chair expertise from, before committing the scam.
Finally, designer dogs aren't as great as they seem, according to a new study. British daily The Telegraph says that researchers found that some popular dog breeds such as miniature poodles are more likely to experience acute diarrhea. All designer dogs are 34 percent more likely to have this issue, according to the study.