Police probe possible arson attack as Cannes and parts of southern France suffer power cut
CANNES, France, May 24 (Reuters) - French police were investigating a possible arson attack as being the main cause for a power outage which hit the Alpes-Maritimes region in southern France on Saturday, including Cannes which is hosting its world-famous annual film festival.
"We are looking into the likelihood of a fire being started deliberately," said a spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie, adding that no arrests had been made at this stage.
The local authority for the Alpes-Maritimes region had said earlier on Saturday that the western part of the area, which includes Cannes, was suffering from a major electricity outage and that RTE France was working on restoring power.
The Cannes Film Festival said the closing ceremony would take place as planned on Saturday evening.
"The Palais des Festivals has switched to an independent power supply, allowing all scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, to proceed as planned and under normal conditions," it said in a statement.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
The furniture fraud that hoodwinked the Palace of Versailles
In the early 2010s, two ornate chairs said to have once belonged on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles appeared on the French antiques to be the most expensive chairs made for the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, they were stamped with the seal of Nicolas-Quinibert Foliot, a celebrated menuisier – or carpenter – who worked in Paris in the 1700s.A significant find, the pair were declared "national treasures" by the French government in 2013, at the request of palace, which displays such items in its vast museum collection, expressed an interest in buying the chairs but the price was deemed too were instead sold to Qatari Prince Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani for an eye-watering €2m (£1.67m). The chairs made up a remarkable number of 18th-Century royal furniture that had appeared on the antiques market in the past few items included another set of chairs purported to have sat in one of Marie Antoinette's chambers in Versailles; a separate pair said to have belonged to Madame du Barry, King Louis XV's mistress; the armchair of King Louis XVI's sister, Princess Élisabeth; and a pair of ployants – or stools – that belonged to the daughter of King Louis XV, Princess Louise É of these were bought by Versailles to display in its museum collection, while one chair was sold to the wealthy Guerrand-Hermès in 2016, this assortment of royal chairs would become embroiled in a national scandal that would rock the French antiques world, bringing the trade into reason? The chairs were in fact all scandal saw one of France's leading antiques experts, Georges "Bill" Pallot, and award-winning cabinetmaker, Bruno Desnoues, put on trial on charges of fraud and money laundering following a nine-year investigation. Galerie Kraemer and its director, Laurent Kraemer, were also accused of deception by gross negligence for selling on some of the chairs – something they both three defendants are set to appear at a court in Pontoise, near Paris on Wednesday following a trial in March. Mr Pallot and Mr Desnoues have admitted to their crimes, while Mr Kraemer and his gallery dispute the charge of deception by gross negligence. It started as a 'joke' Considered the top scholar on French 18th-Century chairs, having written the authoritative book on the subject, Mr Pallot was often called upon by Versailles, among others, to give his expert opinion on whether historical items were the real deal. He was even called as an expert witness in French courts when there were doubts about an item's accomplice, Mr Desnoues, was a decorated cabinetmaker and sculptor who had won a number of prestigious awards, including best sculptor in France in 1984, and had been employed as the main restorer of furniture at in court in March, Mr Pallot said the scheme started as a "joke" with Mr Desnoues in 2007 to see if they could replicate an armchair they were already working on restoring, belonging to Madame du of their crafts, they managed the feat, convincing other experts that it was a chair from the buoyed by their success, they started making more. Describing how they went about constructing the chairs, the two described in court how Mr Pallot sourced wood frames at various auctions for low prices, while Mr Desnoues aged wood at his workshop to make were then sent for gilding and upholstery, before Mr Desnoues added designs and a wood finish. He added stamps from some of the great furniture-workers of the 18th Century, which were either faked or taken from real furniture of the they were finished, Mr Pallot sold them through middlemen to galleries like Kraemer and one he himself worked at, Didier Aaron. They would then get sold onto auction houses such as Sotheby's of London and Drouot of Paris."I was the head and Desnoues was the hands," Mr Pallot told the court smilingly."It went like a breeze," he added. "Everything was fake but the money."Prosecutors allege the two men made an estimated profit of more than €3m off the forged chairs – though Mr Pallot and Mr Desnoues estimated their profits to be a lower amount of €700,000. The income was deposited in foreign bank accounts, prosecutors said. Lawyers representing Versailles told the BBC that Mr Pallot, a lecturer at the Sorbonne, managed to deceive the institution because of his "privileged access to the documentation and archives of Versailles and the Louvre Museum as part of his academic research".A statement from lawyer Corinne Hershkovitch's team said that thanks to Mr Pallot's "thorough knowledge" of the inventories of royal furniture recorded as having existed at Versailles in the 18th Century, he was able to determine which items were missing from collections and to then make them with the help of Mr Desnoues also had access to original chairs he had made copies of, they added, "enabling him to produce fakes that had all the visual appearance of an authentic, up to the inventory numbers and period labels"."The fraudulent association between these two professionally accomplished men, recognised by their peers, made it possible to deceive the French institutions that regarded them as partners and to betray their trust, thereby damaging the reputation of Versailles and its curators," they Pascal Rayer said the trial highlighted the need for more robust regulation of the art market, and also shone a light on the standards antiques dealers should abide court heard authorities were alerted to the scheme when the lavish lifestyle of a Portuguese man and his partner caught the attention of French by police about the acquisition of properties in France and Portugal worth €1.2m while on an income of about €2,500 a month, the man – who it turned out worked as a handyman in Parisian galleries – confessed to his part in working as a middleman who collaborated in the furniture fraud, AFP news agency reported. The money trail then led investigators to Mr Desnoues and Mr Pallot. A case of deceit by gross negligence? Some of those originally indicted in the case, including middlemen, later had charges against them charges against both Laurent Kraemer and Galerie Kraemer, which sold on some of the forged chairs to collectors such as Versailles and Qatar's Prince al-Thani, were allege that while the gallery itself may have been duped into first buying the fake pieces, Mr Kraemer and the gallery were "grossly negligent" in failing to sufficiently check the items' authenticity before selling them on to collectors at high prices. In his closing arguments, prosecutor Mr Rayer said that based on Galerie Kraemer's "reputation and contacts, they could have taken the furniture to Versailles or the Louvre to compare them."They could also have hired other experts given the amounts at stake and considering the opacity on the origin of the chairs."Speaking in court, a lawyer representing Mr Kraemer and the gallery insisted his client "is victim of the fraud, not an accomplice", stating Mr Kraemer never had direct contact with the a statement to the BBC, lawyers Martin Reynaud and Mauricia Courrégé added: "The gallery was not an accomplice of the counterfeiters, the gallery did not know the furniture was fake, and it could not have detected it"."Like the Château de Versailles and the specialists who classified the furniture as national treasures, the Kraemer gallery was a victim of the forgers," they added."We are waiting for the judgement to recognise this."The BBC has contacted Mr Pallot's lawyer for comment. The BBC was unable to reach Mr Desnoues or his lawyer.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
From Ballerina to the return of Pulp: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
BallerinaOut now Ana de Armas (Knives Out, Blonde) stars in this literal spin-off of John Wick, pirouetting through events set between films three and four, as ballerina-assassin Eve Macarro. Anjelica Huston, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane and Keanu Reeves return in their respective franchise roles. Dangerous AnimalsOut now Following in the footsteps of the likes of Dead Calm and Wolf Creek, this horror movie pits a woman in a remote location against a serial killer intent on – in this instance – feeding her to sharks, in a genre movie that has the distinction of having just premiered at the Cannes film festival. Clown in a CornfieldOut now You can't keep a good clown down, or a bad clown either, for that matter. Capitalising on the cultural popularity of the demon clown (see also: IT and The Terrifier), this horror film fetures one called Frendo, and if you've read Adam Cesare's novel, you'll know already that with Frendos like this, who needs enemies. FrequenciesBarbican, London, to 31 August Dedicated to sound on the big screen, this cross-arts season includes cinema presentations of music videos by Chris Cunningham, the Daniels and Jarvis Cocker, celebrations of pirate radio, and relaxed screenings for neurodivergent folks curated by Lillian Crawford. Catherine Bray Waxahatchee8 to 11 June; tour starts GlasgowAlabama singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, AKA Waxahatchee, brings last year's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Tigers Blood album to the UK. Fusing Americana, folk and indie, Crutchfield's intricate melodies are anchored by a voice perfect for making increasingly larger venues feel intimate. Michael Cragg A Visit to FriendsSnape Maltings, Aldeburgh, 13 & 14 June The world premiere of Colin Matthews' first opera opens this year's Aldeburgh festival. With a libretto by novelist William Boyd, based upon a short story by Anton Chekhov and a play by Boyd himself, it is 'an opera within an opera, with music strongly influenced by Scriabin'. Andrew Clements Brighten the Corners festivalVarious venues, Ipswich, 13 & 14 June The five-venue Brighten the Corners shines a light on some of the UK's more eclectic music-makers. Headlining Friday are south London post-punk oddballs Dry Cleaning, while on Saturday it's punk duo Bob Vylan. Gruff Rhys, WH Lung and Richard Dawson are also involved. MC Clark Tracey Jazz ChampionsVerdict, Brighton, 13 June The flame of the late UK piano and composing maestro Stan Tracey burns on in the work of his drummer-bandleader son Clark, whose groups have long cherished the same wit, quirkily boppish grooving and improv punch. This fine lineup includes longtime Tracey sax heavyweights Art Themen and Simon Allen. John Fordham Liverpool BiennialVarious venues, 7 June to 14 September Ghosts of Liverpool's history, as a port that prospered in the age of empire, are likely to haunt this huge free art festival. Any angry spirits that are lurking will surely be summoned by spooky video artist Elizabeth Price. Other participants include Fred Wilson, Linda Lamignan, Sheila Hicks, Alice Rekab and more. Yoshitomo NaraHayward Gallery, London, 10 June to 31 August If you have a fear of art galleries full of kids who all stare at you with giant uncanny eyes, this may be unsettling. On the other hand if you're a fan of cute pop culture from Japan it is for you – a giant retrospective of Nara's striking multimedia oeuvre. Edward Burra – Ithell ColquhounTate Britain, London, 13 June to 19 October Two highly individual British artists from the age of surrealism for the price of one. Colquhoun painted inner visions of sex and magic, in which rocks and flesh merge in submarine sensuality. Burra is more external and satirical in his raw, even cruel depictions of the 1930s, when fascism rose. Sea InsideSainsbury Centre, Norwich, 7 June to 26 October The oceans that cover our planet are almost as mysterious as when medieval bestiaries portrayed their inhabitants as literal 'monk fish'. This exhibition enters the enigmatic undersea world through the imaginations of today's artists including Laure Prouvost and Marcus Coates, exploring human interactions with saltwater from fishing to migration. Jonathan Jones Suzi RuffellTouring to 23 NovemberMother, partner, daughter, friend, genial standup comedian: 39-year-old Ruffell's new tour show The Juggle is themed around the impossibility of excelling in all the roles her current life requires. Expect a rallying cry against perfection delivered with Ruffell's trademark goofy warmth. Rachel Aroesti StorehouseDeptford Storehouse, London, to 20 September This intriguing-sounding immersive show from new theatre company Sage & Jester unfurls across a huge storehouse in Deptford. The audience is pulled into a world where humanity's stories have been stored since the dawn of the internet. Will the defenders of Truth or keepers of Order prevail? Miriam Gillinson Come Fall in LoveManchester Opera House, to 21 June Sparky new musical comedy based on one of the biggest films in Indian cinema, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. A young British woman, Simran, embarks on a final summer of travel and freedom ahead of her arranged marriage in India – and promptly falls for laid-back lad, Roger. Directed by Aditya Chopra. MG Viva CarnivalSheffield City Hall, 12 June; The Glasshouse, Gateshead, 13 June; touring to 24 JuneOne of Strictly's very best, Oti Mabuse, launches her own carnival-inspired show, drawing on festival revelry from around the world, from Brazilian samba to Argentine tango to New Orleans jazz, and even the muddy fields of Glastonbury. She's joined by another Strictly favourite, and tango champion, special guest star Flavia Cacace. Lyndsey Winship Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion The GoldiPlayer & BBC One, 8 June, 9pmThe first series of this classy, evocative and thoroughly entertaining 1980s-set drama followed some of the small-time crooks who somehow orchestrated the notorious Brink's-Mat robbery. This time, police are searching for the other half of the bullion. Hugh Bonneville returns as the detective in charge. Flight 149: Hostage of WarNow & Sky Documentaries, 11 June, 9pm When a British Airways flight stopped off in Kuwait in 1990, its passengers were taken hostage by Saddam Hussein. Did the government know the plane was landing in a newly established war zone? This documentary covers the gobsmacking evidence. BethChannel 4, 9 June, 10pm The confusing technicalities of this thriller – it's Channel 4's 'first digital original drama' so will be broadcast on YouTube as well as linear TV – need not detract from the compelling premise: Beth revolves around a shocking mystery connected to an interracial couple who birth a white child. Abbey Lee and Nicholas Pinnock star. Not Going OutiPlayer & BBC One, 13 June, 9pm Over the past two decades, Lee Mack's knockabout comedy has quietly become one of our longest-running sitcoms (it's still a long way from overtaking Last of the Summer Wine, mind you). For series 14, the timeline jumps forward to chronicle Lee (Mack) and his wife Lucy's struggle to deal with their empty nest. RA MindsEyeOut 10 June; PC, PS5, Xbox From a former director of Grand Theft Auto comes this action techno-thriller about a former soldier with an unwelcome chip in his brain. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it comes across like a futuristic GTA (or less-futuristic Cyberpunk 2077). Dune AwakeningOut 10 June; PC, PS5, Xbox Reckon you could survive Dune's arid, pitiless hellscape of a planet? No, me neither, but Dune Awakening is built to support thousands of players fighting over spice and trying not to get eaten by giant worms. Keza MacDonald Pulp – More Out now After a 24-year break between albums, one of Britain's best bands return. Produced by James Ford, More features all the sly lyrical wit you'd expect from Jarvis Cocker, but also a hefty dose of gleaming pop as on the mighty Got to Have Love. Turnstile – Never Enough Out now After augmenting their hardcore sound on 2021's Glow On via appearances from Blood Orange and production from Mike Elizondo, the Baltimore band continue to broaden their horizons on this follow-up. On the title track the quintet add ambient textures, while Seein' Stars revels in an 80s synthpop strut. Addison Rae – Addison Out nowA TikTok star turned actor and influencer, 24-year-old Rae's debut single, Obsessed, was critically panned. Now she's one of pop's most interesting practitioners, skipping between Ray of Light-esque mood pieces (Aquamarine), trip-hop soothers (Headphones On) and sultry slow jams such as Diet Pepsi. Little Simz – Lotus Out now Ahead of her role as curator of the Meltdown festival in London, starting Thursday, rapper and actor Little Simz unleashes Lotus, an album focused on transformation and growth. While the playful Young dabbles in scratchy indie, the fiery Flood feels like the album's beating heart, Simz prowling around a sinister hip-hop beat. MC World Book ClubPodcast The longrunning BBC World Service series returns this week with a rare interview with pioneering sci-fi author NK Jemisin. Focusing on her new novel, The City We Became, Jemisin describes writing a futuristic New York. Trainwreck: The Astroworld TragedyNetflix, 11 June Largely pieced together through survivor testimony and individual video recordings, this unsettling film recounts how rapper Travis Scott's 2021 Astroworld festival performance resulted in a mass panic and crowd crush that left 10 dead. Not Another SnowflakeSubstack Journalist Nicola Kelly's weekly Substack posts are an illuminating insight into Britain's changing and often worrying political relationship with immigration. Combining original reporting and news analysis, Kelly charts Keir Starmer's ongoing attempts to implement hardline policies. Ammar Kalia
The Review Geek
4 hours ago
- The Review Geek
K.O. (2025) Ending Explained – Does Leo survive the gang?
K.O. Plot Summary The premise of K.O. clings to all the usual tropes you'd expect from a flick like this, jumping straight into the action. Here, we follow aspiring MMA fighter Bastien, who finds himself in the ring with his bitter rival, Enzo. The pair go toe-to-toe in a relentless and pretty brutal sequence that immediately sets the tone and mood for the rest of the movie. Bastien's fight ends in tragedy when he counters a triangle hold into a full-on slam to the mat. Enzo's head crunches against the canvas, and unfortunately, he passes away as a result. Guilt-stricken, Bastien hangs up his gloves and disappears into exile. Fast-forward two years, and our reclusive hero is called back into action by Enzo's widowed wife, Emma. Her son, Leo, has gone missing after getting mixed up in the drug trade, and it seems he may be the target of some particularly nasty gangsters. With a bullseye on his back, Leo is in big trouble—and Bastien feels a moral obligation to do right by Emma. Who are the rival gang? Bastien heads off to find out the truth about Leo's whereabouts, where he winds up indirectly working with Captain Alaoui. The rival gang are called the Manchours. They're vicious and a lot of people are scared of them. They're fronted by a man named Abdul, a relentless gangster determined to grow his empire in Marseille – no matter the cost. Alaoui loses her badge thanks to getting too aggressive with a couple of gang members outside. She teams up with Bastien to get info on Leo's whereabouts, and they soon realize that he has valuable intel that could take down the Manchours. This explains why the gang are so interested in the kid – and why they want him dead. What is driving Alaoui and Bastien to fight so hard? Alaoui lives alone and doesn't have a partner. She's consumed by her grief though, still torn up over the passing of her brother. She has a history with the Manchours, stemming from her childhood. She grew up in the same neighbourhood as the gang and her brother began working with kids on the street. Unfortunately, when the Manchours started dealing drugs and getting the kids involved, her brother pissed them off badly. In fact, one night they tied him to a chair and burned him alive. Even worse, they sent the video to Alaoui and disappeared, until a year ago when they returned. They're smart and always one step ahead, building a criminal enterprise in Marseille – which Alaoui is determined to stop. What happens at the police station? After reuniting with Leo and a tense chase sequence at the apartment complex, the group make it back to the police station where Bastien explains why he's doing all of this. His father passed away when he was a kid and since then he was angry at the world and lashed out. Bastien chose fighting as an outlet and the irony is, this accident has caused Leo's father, Enzo, to die. He recognizes that Leo is going down a dark path and although Bastien didn't mean to kill the fighter, he feels responsible for making sure he steers the kid in the right direction. Bastien was lucky, having surrounded himself with good people and managing to turn a corner, away from a potential life of misery and crime. Who is the mole? Leo reveals in his police interview that the Manchours organized a big meeting with their contacts. Leo was new and shouldn't have been there but he showed up anyway. Here, the Manchour gang met with Andalou and his gang – the same guy we saw earlier tortured for the whereabouts of the drugs earlier in the movie. This was all a trap, organized by Andalou's contact. Leo saw Abdel Manchour kill a man right in front of him but unfortunately, was spotted spying on them and he decided to run. Leo got freaked when he saw the cops because that informant working with the gang happens to be 'The Cop'. It's here where Alaoui realizes there's mole in the midst… and it happens to be Vasseur. He immediately stabs Benoit in the neck before he's shot down. This explains why Leo never went to the police – he didn't trust them. Who survives the final fight? Outside, shots are fired at Sebastopol and the surrounding areas, sending officers out to check. Unfortunately, this leaves the station severely lacking in staff, prompting the Manchour gang to come in all guns blazing and shoot the place up. Alaoui does her best to fight back but Abdul is leading the charge. Through the fighting, Alaoui and Abdul wind up duking it out while Bastien handles Abdul's right-hand man, Driss. Bastien just about comes out on top while Alaoui kills Abdul after stabbing him in the eye and driving this through his skull. With police heading back, the gang breathe a sigh of relief after coming out in one piece. How does K.O. end? Leo is finally free and no longer hunted by the (presumably defunct) Manchour gang, while Emma is reunited with her son. It seems he'll now have a way of handling and channelling his anger, courtesy of Bastien's guidance too. As for Bastien, he intends to head out and carve a new name for himself, deciding that it's time to find something new to fight, looking out at the sunset ready for another day. Read More: K.O. Movie Review
