Latest news with #LaurentNuñez
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Macron vows justice after tree memorial for murdered Jew cut down
French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged that every effort will be made to track down and punish the person who cut down a tree commemorating a murdered memorial tree was planted 14 years ago to honour Ilan Halimi, who was tortured and murdered by a Paris gang in 2006, sparking widespread shock and outrage at the said the felling of the olive tree on Wednesday was "an attempt to kill him a second time", adding: "All means are being deployed to punish this act of hatred."Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez confirmed an investigation was under way, adding: "Everything will be done to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice." Halimi's body was found by a railway line handcuffed to a tree, naked and severely burned, having been held captive by the Barbarian gang for more than three was lured by a female gang member to an empty apartment in February 2006, where he was attacked and kidnappers tried unsuccessfully to extort a ransom of €450,000 ($600,000; £405,000) from his family, sending them harrowing images and video mastermind - Youssouf Fofana - targeted Halimi because of his Jewish heritage, believing his family to be unduly wealthy. Fofana was later sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years, while other accomplices implicated in the crime received lesser sentences. The tree in the suburb of Épinay-sur-Seine was one of several memorials across the French capital for Halimi before it was cut local authority said it had been found cut down on Thursday morning, posting an image of it showing the tree chopped off at the base and thrown into a nearby flowerbed. Macron said France "will not forget this child of France who died because he was Jewish"."In the face of antisemitism, the Republic is always uncompromising," he Prime Minister François Bayrou also blamed "antisemitic hatred" for the tree being felled."No crime can uproot memory," he wrote. "The never-ending fight against the deadly poison of hatred is our primary duty."In 2019, another tree honouring Halimi was reportedly chopped down, in what officials at the time described as an antisemitic in 2017, France's then-interior minister condemned the desecration of a plaque commemorating Halimi in which it was ripped off a wall and covered with antisemitic writing.
New Straits Times
12-07-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Paris police to deploy en masse for Bastille Day, PSG game
PARIS: Paris will be under tight police surveillance on Sunday and Monday for a key football match involving local champions PSG, and France's national holiday — with both events potentially sparking public disturbances, police said. Some 11,500 officers will be deployed in the French capital and surrounding areas for the FIFA Club World Cup final between English side Chelsea and French champions Paris Saint-Germain, which coincides with festivities on the eve of France's national holiday on Monday, known as Bastille Day, that can at times degenerate into violence. No crowd gatherings will be allowed on the Champs-Élysées, the prestigious Paris thoroughfare that has often been the scene of unrest on such occasions. Although the Club World Cup final is being played in the US, PSG fans are expected to gather in large numbers on the streets of Paris. When the club won the Champions League final on May 31, several violent incidents across France led to around 200 arrests and 20 police officers injured. On the Champs-Élysées that night, shop windows were smashed and stores looted. "For now we are not aware of any risks, but we nevertheless always prepare for public disturbances," Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez told the BFMTV broadcaster on Saturday. The police deployment in Paris and the suburbs would be "very dense," he said. "We will act with great firmness," Nuñez warned, adding that he had given orders for any gathering on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday evening to be dispersed. No fan zones or pavement television screens will be allowed between Sunday evening and the early hours of Monday. The avenue will, on Monday, be the scene of the traditional July 14 military parade, for which police will establish security checkpoints for body and bag inspections for invited guests. The event will be followed on Monday evening by a classical concert near the Eiffel Tower and traditional Bastille Day fireworks lasting 20 minutes, for which a crowd of 60,000 is expected.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Yahoo
Syringe attacks during France's music street festival leave 145 jabbed and several hospitalised
French police have detained 12 suspects after nearly 150 people reported being assaulted with syringes across France during its annual "Fête de la Musique" summer festival. The outdoor festival took place all over France last Saturday, with authorities reporting "unprecedented crowds" in Paris. The Interior Ministry said that 145 people nationwide had reported being stabbed with needles, with Paris police reporting 13 cases in the capital. Upwards of a dozen women and underaged girls have been hospitalised. 'The ministry is taking this very seriously,' a spokeswoman from the Interior Ministry stated. "Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests and the investigation is ongoing," the ministry added. Officials have yet to say if these were cases of needle spiking with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, but the drugs rendered victims confused and vulnerable to sexual assault. Ahead of the festival, influencers like Abrège Soeur warned that calls had been made on social media for women to be targeted with syringes. Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez todl French broadcaster CNews: 'These are extremely serious incidents,' calling the online calls to inject women 'completely idiotic.' Two men were also arrested in the centre of the north-eastern city of Metz on suspicion of syringe attacks. The mayor of Metz, François Grosdidier, took to social media to address the situation: 'On social networks, a call for syringe assaults has been launched during the Music Festivals in major cities. It happened in two other cities in Moselle and all over France… 17 young girls (ages 14-20) were victimized in #Metz.' Grosdidier continued: 'A description of a syringe attacker was shared with the Urban Supervision Center (CSU) to help locate him on video footage, as well as with the municipal and national police. Municipal police officers identified him on Rue Serpenoise, arrested him, and handed him over to the National Police and judicial authorities. I hope the investigation – especially examining his mobile phone – will help identify other attackers.' Police said more than 370 people were detained nationwide during the festival on various charges. A reported fourteen participants in the festivities were seriously injured, including a 17-year-old who was hospitalised after being found sitting on the street with stab wounds to the lower abdomen. Thirteen members of law enforcement were also injured. This isn't the first time that syringe attacks targeting women have taken place. Similar cases took place in France in June 2022. Several suspects around France were detained for allegedly pricking people with a needle in nightclubs or at concerts. At the time, the French Ministry of the Interior confirmed to Euronews that 80 per cent of the targets were young women. French police tallied over 400 reports at the time, saying that the motive of the jabs was unclear. In Spain, the number of women reporting being jabbed with medical needles while at nightclubs or parties rose to 60 in 2022, according to the country's interior minister. There were similar incidents in the UK in 2021, prompting the British Parliament to publish a report in April 2022 about spiking cases.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Syringe attacks during France's music street festival leave 145 jabbed and several hospitalised
French police have detained 12 suspects after nearly 150 people reported being assaulted with syringes across France during its annual "Fête de la Musique" summer festival. The outdoor festival took place all over France last Saturday, with authorities reporting "unprecedented crowds" in Paris. The Interior Ministry said that 145 people nationwide had reported being stabbed with needles, with Paris police reporting 13 cases in the capital. Upwards of a dozen women and underaged girls have been hospitalised. 'The ministry is taking this very seriously,' a spokeswoman from the Interior Ministry stated. "Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests and the investigation is ongoing," the ministry added. Officials have yet to say if these were cases of needle spiking with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, but the drugs rendered victims confused and vulnerable to sexual assault. Ahead of the festival, influencers like Abrège Soeur warned that calls had been made on social media for women to be targeted with syringes. Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez todl French broadcaster CNews: 'These are extremely serious incidents,' calling the online calls to inject women 'completely idiotic.' Two men were also arrested in the centre of the north-eastern city of Metz on suspicion of syringe attacks. The mayor of Metz, François Grosdidier, took to social media to address the situation: 'On social networks, a call for syringe assaults has been launched during the Music Festivals in major cities. It happened in two other cities in Moselle and all over France… 17 young girls (ages 14-20) were victimized in #Metz.' Grosdidier continued: 'A description of a syringe attacker was shared with the Urban Supervision Center (CSU) to help locate him on video footage, as well as with the municipal and national police. Municipal police officers identified him on Rue Serpenoise, arrested him, and handed him over to the National Police and judicial authorities. I hope the investigation – especially examining his mobile phone – will help identify other attackers.' Police said more than 370 people were detained nationwide during the festival on various charges. A reported fourteen participants in the festivities were seriously injured, including a 17-year-old who was hospitalised after being found sitting on the street with stab wounds to the lower abdomen. Thirteen members of law enforcement were also injured. This isn't the first time that syringe attacks targeting women have taken place. Similar cases took place in France in June 2022. Several suspects around France were detained for allegedly pricking people with a needle in nightclubs or at concerts. At the time, the French Ministry of the Interior confirmed to Euronews that 80 per cent of the targets were young women. French police tallied over 400 reports at the time, saying that the motive of the jabs was unclear. In Spain, the number of women reporting being jabbed with medical needles while at nightclubs or parties rose to 60 in 2022, according to the country's interior minister. There were similar incidents in the UK in 2021, prompting the British Parliament to publish a report in April 2022 about spiking cases.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Syringe attacks during France's music street festival leave 145 jabbed and several hospitalised
French police have detained 12 suspects after nearly 150 people reported being assaulted with syringes across France during its annual "Fête de la Musique" summer festival. The outdoor festival took place all over France last Saturday, with authorities reporting "unprecedented crowds" in Paris. The Interior Ministry said that 145 people nationwide had reported being stabbed with needles, with Paris police reporting 13 cases in the capital. Upwards of a dozen women and underaged girls have been hospitalised. 'The ministry is taking this very seriously,' a spokeswoman from the Interior Ministry stated. "Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests and the investigation is ongoing," the ministry added. Officials have yet to say if these were cases of needle spiking with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, but the drugs rendered victims confused and vulnerable to sexual assault. Ahead of the festival, influencers like Abrège Soeur warned that calls had been made on social media for women to be targeted with syringes. Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez todl French broadcaster CNews: 'These are extremely serious incidents,' calling the online calls to inject women 'completely idiotic.' Two men were also arrested in the centre of the north-eastern city of Metz on suspicion of syringe attacks. The mayor of Metz, François Grosdidier, took to social media to address the situation: 'On social networks, a call for syringe assaults has been launched during the Music Festivals in major cities. It happened in two other cities in Moselle and all over France… 17 young girls (ages 14-20) were victimized in #Metz.' Grosdidier continued: 'A description of a syringe attacker was shared with the Urban Supervision Center (CSU) to help locate him on video footage, as well as with the municipal and national police. Municipal police officers identified him on Rue Serpenoise, arrested him, and handed him over to the National Police and judicial authorities. I hope the investigation – especially examining his mobile phone – will help identify other attackers.' Police said more than 370 people were detained nationwide during the festival on various charges. A reported fourteen participants in the festivities were seriously injured, including a 17-year-old who was hospitalised after being found sitting on the street with stab wounds to the lower abdomen. Thirteen members of law enforcement were also injured. This isn't the first time that syringe attacks targeting women have taken place. Similar cases took place in France in June 2022. Several suspects around France were detained for allegedly pricking people with a needle in nightclubs or at concerts. At the time, the French Ministry of the Interior confirmed to Euronews that 80 per cent of the targets were young women. French police tallied over 400 reports at the time, saying that the motive of the jabs was unclear. In Spain, the number of women reporting being jabbed with medical needles while at nightclubs or parties rose to 60 in 2022, according to the country's interior minister. There were similar incidents in the UK in 2021, prompting the British Parliament to publish a report in April 2022 about spiking cases.
