Motor Rally Accident Kills Three Spectators In France
The driver of the modified Peugeot 208 that hit the spectators and her 51-year-old woman co-driver were taken to hospital but their lives were not in danger, prosecutors said.
The accident occurred near the town of Ambert in central France around 11 am (0900 GMT) on Saturday.
Two men died at the scene and prosecutors later announced that a third man, airlifted to hospital, succumbed to his injuries.
The three killed were two brothers, aged 70 and 60, and a 44-year-old man, according to the public prosecutor's office, which opened an investigation into involuntary manslaughter.
Several people who witnessed the accident, were in shock, and nine people were taken to a psychological support unit set up in the nearby village of Saint-Just.
"This is a tragedy for the world of racing," Joel Mathurin, the top government official for the department of Puy-de-Dome, told reporters at the scene.
The road at the accident site is flanked by cornfields.
Several hours after the crash, pieces of plastic and glass fragments were visible near the scene, according to an AFP journalist.
Regional prosecutor Laure Moisset said the impact was "very violent."
"Today, we have three families mourning the loss of loved ones in this accident," she said.
When asked about the possibility that the victims were in an area closed to the public, Moisset said she preferred to "be cautious."
"It is still a little too early to be precise," she added.
"The race was extremely well organised," she added.
Initially, the prefect had said that the spectators hit by the car were in a restricted area marked off by red tape.
The areas reserved for the public are marked with green tape.
Organised since 1965, the motor rally attracted 167 teams for its 32nd edition.
In the rally held last year, a race marshal died.
In a short statement after the accident on Saturday, the rally organisers said that the race was halted at 10:49 am.
All spectators were asked to leave the scene and the event's award ceremony was cancelled.
Dozens of firefighters and police were dispatched to the scene.
The investigation was "in its early stages," the prosecutor said.
The Peugeot 208 car was to be examined.
The road where the accident took place, almost a straight line according to the authorities, has been closed.
The mayor of Saint-Just, Francois Chautard, said the rally passed through his village in recent years.
He said he had seen the "dented" car when it was being towed away.
"I think the crash was violent," he said. The accident occurred near the town of Ambert in central France AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
12 minutes ago
- Int'l Business Times
Macau Ex-lawmaker Arrested In City's First National Security Law Action
A former Macau pro-democracy lawmaker became the first person to be arrested under the city's national security law, with authorities alleging on Thursday that he had ties to foreign groups endangering China. The Chinese casino hub, which has its own legal system largely based on Portuguese law, enacted national security legislation in 2009 and widened its powers in 2023. Macau's judicial police said a 68-year-old local man surnamed Au was arrested and handed over to public prosecutors on suspicion of "establishing connections... outside Macau to commit acts endangering national security". Local media identified the man as Au Kam-san, a primary school teacher who became one of Macau's longest-serving pro-democracy legislators before deciding not to seek re-election in 2021. The man allegedly provided "a large amount of false and seditious information to an anti-China group" for public exhibitions online and abroad since 2022, and "stirred up hatred" against the Macau and Beijing governments. He is also accused of spreading false information to various groups, which allegedly disrupted the city's 2024 leadership election and caused foreign countries to take hostile action against Macau, police said in a statement, without naming the groups. A stalwart of Macau's tiny opposition camp, Au spent years campaigning on issues such as social welfare, corruption and electoral reform. Online news platform All About Macau reported that judicial police took away the ex-lawmaker and his wife Virginia Cheang on Wednesday. Cheang told the outlet outside the public prosecution office on Thursday that she was listed as a witness and that she did not know why her husband was detained. AFP was unable to reach Au for comment. The former Portuguese colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1999 via a "One Country, Two Systems" framework that promised a high degree of autonomy and rights protections. For years it was regarded by Beijing as a poster child in contrast with neighbouring Hong Kong, which often saw boisterous protests. The high-water mark of Macau activism came in 2014 when some 200,000 people rallied to oppose granting perks to retired government officials, an event that Au helped to organise. One pro-establishment Macau lawmaker told a newspaper in 2020 that the city was threat-free, as shown by the fact that the "national security law had never been used... in 11 years". But when Beijing cracked down on Hong Kong after months of huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019, similar curbs were extended to Macau. The casino hub expanded the scope of national security laws in May 2023, which officials said was meant to step up prevention of foreign interference. Former top judge Sam Hou-fai became Macau's leader in December after a one-horse race. City officials this month disqualified 12 candidates from the legislative elections set for September, saying they did not uphold Macau's mini-constitution or pledge allegiance to the city. The dozen hopefuls include sitting lawmaker Ron Lam, who said last week that the grounds for barring him were "ridiculous".
Int'l Business Times
3 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Terrified By Trump Raids, LA's Undocument Migrants Hide At Home
For over a month, Alberto has hardly dared to leave the small room he rents in someone's backyard for fear of encountering the masked police who have been rounding up immigrants in Los Angeles. "It's terrible," sighed the 60-year-old Salvadoran, who does not have a US visa. "It's a confinement I wouldn't wish upon anyone." To survive, Alberto -- AFP agreed to use a pseudonym -- relies on an organization that delivers food to him twice a week. "It helps me a lot, because if I don't have this... how will I eat?" said Alberto, who has not been to his job at a car wash for weeks. The sudden intensification of immigration enforcement activity in Los Angeles in early June saw scores of people -- mostly Latinos -- arrested at car washes, hardware stores, on farms and even in the street. Videos circulating on social media showed masked and heavily armed men pouncing on people who they claimed were hardened criminals. However, critics of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeps say those snatched were only trying to earn a meagre wage in jobs that many Americans don't want to do. The raids -- slammed as brutal and seemingly arbitrary -- sparked a wave of demonstrations that gripped the city for weeks, including some that spiraled into violence and vandalism. Alberto decided to hole up in his room after one such raid on a car wash in which some of his friends were arrested, and subsequently deported. Despite being pre-diabetic, he is hesitant to attend an upcoming medical appointment. His only breath of fresh air is pacing the private alley in front of his home. "I'm very stressed. I have headaches and body pain because I was used to working," he said. In 15 years in the United States, Trump's second term has turned out to be "worse than anything" for him. Trump's immigration offensive was a major feature of his re-election campaign, even winning the favor of some voters in liberal Los Angeles. But its ferocity, in a place that is home to hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers, has taken the city by surprise. Faced with mounting raids, migrants are limiting their movement as much as possible. In June, the use of the public transportation system -- a key network for the city's poorer residents -- dropped by 13.5 percent compared to the previous month. "As you're driving through certain neighborhoods, it looks like a ghost town sometimes," said Norma Fajardo, from the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a non-profit organization that supports these workers. It has joined forces with other groups to deliver hundreds of bags of food every week to those afraid to step outside. "There is a huge need for this," said the 37-year-old American. "It's very saddening and infuriating. Workers should be able to go to work and not fear getting kidnapped." In June, ICE agents arrested over 2,200 people in the Los Angeles area, according to internal documents analyzed by AFP. About 60 percent of them had no criminal record. Given the colossal resources recently allocated to ICE by Congress -- nearly $30 billion to bolster immigration enforcement, including funding to recruit 10,000 additional agents -- Fajardo says she is not expecting any let up. "It seems like this is the new normal," she sighed. "When we first heard of an ICE raid at a car wash, we were in emergency crisis mode. Now we are just really accepting that we need to plan for the long term." Food assistance has also become essential for Marisol, a Honduran woman who has been confined to her building for weeks with 12 family members. "We constantly thank God (for the food deliveries) because this has been a huge relief," says the 62-year-old Catholic, who has not attended Mass in weeks. Marisol -- not her real name -- has hung up curtains on the windows at her home entrance to block any view from outside. She forbids her grandchildren from opening the door and worries enormously when her daughters venture out to work a few hours to provide for the family's needs. "Every time they go out, I pray to God that they come back, because you never know what might happen," she said. Marisol and her family fled a Honduran crime gang 15 years ago because they wanted to forcibly recruit her children. Now, some of them wonder if it's worth continuing to live in the United States. "My sons have already said to me: 'Mom, sometimes I would prefer to go to Europe.'" Volunteers pack up food to be taken to undocumented migrants across Los Angeles AFP Marisol lives with 12 family members AFP Deliveries of food like this one are literally lifelines for people who have shut themselves away AFP Bertha Gonzalez, a member of CLEAN Carwash Worker Center is one of a number of volunteers visiting people too scared to leave their homes AFP
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Int'l Business Times
Intimate No More? Japan Clamps Down On 'Host Clubs'
Japan is waging war on "host clubs" -- where men entertain women willing to pay for romance, but authorities and industry insiders say customers have long been scammed and saddled with debt. Neatly coiffured, well-dressed "hosts" bedazzle women with sweet talk and the mirage of intimacy at glitzy establishments in big Japanese cities. In return, the women pay inflated prices for champagne and other expensive drinks while they flirt, sometimes splurging tens of thousands of dollars a night. Authorities are clamping down because of allegations that some women are being tricked into towering debts by hosts, and even into sex work to pay them off. Under a new law that took effect in June, taking advantage of women's romantic feelings to manipulate them into ordering overpriced drinks has been banned. This has sent shockwaves through an industry where pseudo-romance, from casual flirtation to after-hours sex, has long driven relationships with clients. John Reno, a star host in Tokyo's red-light district Kabukicho, said the crackdown was "unsurprising" after "scammer-like hosts increased". Hosts, he told AFP, used to employ intimacy primarily to entertain women. But "their mindset today is basically 'if you love me, then don't complain,' silencing women and exploiting their emotional dependence", the 29-year-old owner of Club J said. A growing number of victims have reported financial and sexual exploitation linked to these establishments. Official data shows there were around 2,800 host club-related cases reported to police in 2024, up from 2,100 two years before. These have ranged from hosts ordering drinks the clients did not ask for, to prostitution. Some hosts are racking up profits by introducing their cash-strapped clients to brokers known as "scouts", who then send them into the sex trade, police say. Women, for their part, strive to work hard for their crush. "These hosts in return promise them their effort will be rewarded with actual relationships or marriage," Reno said. "That's outright fraud," he added, while denying that his Club J employees engage in any such practices. Difficulties such as poverty and abuse often make hosts the only escape for young women with low self-esteem, campaigners say. While high-flying businesswomen used to be the main clientele, girls "with no place to be" are increasingly seeking refuge, Arata Sakamoto, head of Kabukicho-based non-profit Rescue Hub, told AFP. To them, "host clubs have become a place where they feel accepted" and "reassured they can be who they are, albeit in exchange for money", he said. One recent night saw a 26-year-old woman surrounded by smiling men at a table of flamboyant Kabukicho club Platina. "Some hosts are bad enough to brainwash you, but I would say women should also know better than to drink far more than they can afford," the woman, a freelancer in the media industry who declined to be named, told AFP. Another customer comes to Platina to "spice up my mundane life". "I hope this will remain a place that keeps my female hormones overflowing," the 34-year-old IT worker said. The new law does not ban intimacy, but behaviour such as threatening to end relationships with clients if they refuse to order drinks. Industry insiders like Platina owner Ran Sena call the law "too vague". "For example, if a client tells me, 'I'm about to fall in love with you,' does that mean I'll have to forbid her from coming to see me again?" he said. Another disruptive change is also rocking the industry. Police have notified clubs that any billboard advertising that hypes up the sales and popularity of individual hosts is no longer acceptable. The rationale is that these bombastic, neon-lit signs boasting "No.1" status or "multimillion" sales can fuel competition among hosts and push them further toward profit-mongering. Self-identifying as Kabukicho's "conqueror," "god" or "king", and egging on prospective customers to "drown themselves" in love, for example, is similarly banned. To comply, clubs have hurriedly covered such slogans on Kabukicho billboards, defacing the pouting portraits of hosts with black tape. This signals a "huge" morale crisis for hosts, Sena says. "It's been the aspiration of many hosts to be called No.1, earn a title and become famous in this town," he said. "Now, they don't even know what they should strive for," the 43-year-old added. For women, too, the rankings were a way to reassure themselves that the money they spent on their "oshi (favourite)" hosts was not in vain -- proof they were helping them ascend in the cutthroat hosts industry. "I think the industry is heading toward decline," Sena said. Hosts' alleged exploitation and ties with sex trafficking forced legal reforms AFP Police have notified clubs that any billboard advertising that hypes up the sales and popularity of individual hosts is no longer acceptable AFP While high-flying businesswomen used to be the main clientele, girls "with no place to be" are increasingly seeking refuge, according to non-profit Rescue Hub AFP
