
Paris dusts off statues of trailblazing women from 2024 Olympics
They include Simone Veil, who spearheaded the legalisation of abortion in France, and the feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir.
The first of them, a golden representation of the campaigning lawyer Gisele Halimi, was set up in the capital's northern La Chapelle district on Friday.
Halimi, a Tunisian-born French lawyer who died five years ago aged 93, earned national fame for her role in a 1972 trial defending a minor who had an abortion after a rape.
She ensured not only that the young woman, Marie-Claire Chevalier, was acquitted but also helped swing public opinion on the issue of reproductive rights.
She was one of the most prominent of 343 women who in 1971 signed an open letter saying that they had had abortions.
Michele Zaoui, an architect working for the city of Paris, said the plan was to keep the statues in the neighbourhood for a least a few more years until the opening of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
During artistic director Thomas Jolly's Olympics opening ceremony, the statues surged up from the waters of the Seine.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
32 minutes ago
- France 24
Macrons sue Candace Owens over claims that Brigitte Macron is a man
05:14 20/07/2025 Palais de la découverte: Scientists say this historic museum could be shut down France 20/07/2025 France: Winemakers exploring new markets in non-alcoholic sector France 20/07/2025 France: Duplomb law's pesticide provision triggers unprecedented debate France 19/07/2025 Fraud probe opened into Mbappe payments to police officers France 17/07/2025 Lebanese Abdallah held since 1984 for US, Israeli diplomat murders Middle East 17/07/2025 Paris Summer Festival celebrates 35 years with artistic revival France 16/07/2025 Scandalous" : Angry French react to PM's idea to cut holidays France 16/07/2025 'Inheritance unequally distributed': Advanced economies all experiencing 'great wealth transfer' Europe 14/07/2025 Fireworks, warplanes and axes: France celebrates Bastille Day France


France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Macron lawyer says lawsuit against US influencer Candace Owens 'a last resort'
A lawyer for France's first couple said they'll be seeking 'substantial' damages from US conservative influencer and podcaster Candace Owens if she persists with claims that President Emmanuel Macron 's wife, Brigitte, is a man. The lawyer, Tom Clare, said in an interview with CNN that a defamation suit filed Wednesday for the Macrons in a Delaware court was 'really a last resort' after a fruitless yearlong effort to engage with Owens and requests that she "do the right thing: tell the truth, stop spreading these lies." 'Each time we've done that, she mocked the Macrons, she mocked our efforts to set the record straight," Clare said. "Enough is enough, it was time to hold her accountable." The complaint against Owens lays out 'extensive evidence' that Brigitte Macron "was born a woman, she's always been a woman," he said. 'We'll put forward our damage claim at trial, but if she continues to double down between now and the time of trial, it will be a substantial award," he said. In Paris, the presidential office had no immediate comment. The Macrons have been married since 2007, and Emmanuel Macron has been France's president since 2017. The couple first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Brigitte Macron was then Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three children. Emmanuel Macron moved to Paris for his last year of high school, but promised to marry Brigitte. She later moved to the French capital to join him and divorced before they finally married.


France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Spain reaches the Euro final after victory over Germany
Also in this news report: Jonathan Milan's victory in stage 17 of the Tour de France, the queen stage coming up this Thursday with Tadej Pogacar as the favorite, Hugo Ekitike officially joining Liverpool for £78 million, Maxime Pauty's bronze medal at the Fencing World Championships, and Taylor Fritz's win in his opening match at the ATP 500 in Washington.