Latest news with #PlaceDeLaConcorde
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- The Guardian
Four men guilty of Kim Kardashian jewellery heist in Paris
Four men have been found guilty of breaking into a luxury residence in Paris and stealing jewellery worth millions of euros from the American reality TV star Kim Kardashian when she attended fashion week in 2016. Three pensioners and one man in his 30s were convicted of carrying out the armed heist, which was thought to be the biggest robbery of an individual in France in 20 years. Four other people were found guilty of assisting in the plot or related charges. Two people were acquitted of accusations they handed out information about Kardashian's whereabouts. The armed, masked men who were dressed in police jackets, arrived by bike or on foot just before 3am on 3 October 2016 at Kardashian's exclusive building near Paris's Place de la Concorde, known as a 'no address' site, where celebrities often rent sumptuous suites. They held a receptionist at gunpoint and then went up to Kardashian's room where they held her hostage with a gun, tying her hands and feet and taping her mouth. They escaped with jewellery worth up to an estimated €10m. The jewels, which were never found, included a 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring given to Kardashian by her then husband, the rapper Kanye West, estimated to be worth £3m. The leaders of the gang, aged in their 60s and 70s, were nicknamed the 'grandpa robbers' by French media. But the state prosecutor, Anne-Dominique Merville, had told jurors not to be fooled by their age or 'reassuring wrinkles', saying they were seasoned criminals with long track records and previous prison sentences. Aomar Aït Khedache, 68, a retired restaurant owner alleged to have masterminded the robbery, was handed the heaviest sentence of three years in prison plus five years suspended, but due to time already served in jail he will not return to detention. For the same reason, none of the convicted men were sent to prison. The court heard Aït Kadeche ''gave orders', recruited others and travelled to Belgium to sell the jewellery. He is now deaf and cannot speak, so he read the court's questions on a typed transcript, writing his answers with a pen and paper, projected on to a screen. 'I ask for forgiveness. I can't find the words. I am very sorry,' he wrote as the trial ended. Didier Dubreucq, 69, was found guilty as well as Yunice Abbas, 71, who admitted to arriving at the scene with two accomplices on bicycles to 'keep watch'. Abbas had told the court: 'All I have to offer you is regret. I'm sorry.' Marc-Alexandre Boyer, the youngest member of the group, now in his 30s, was also convicted. In a statement after the verdict, Kardashian said she was 'satisfied' with the verdict, adding that she was 'deeply grateful to the French authorities for pursuing justice.' More details soon…
Fox News
21-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Expert identifies ancient 'propaganda' praising pharaoh who may have challenged Moses
Ancient "propaganda" that was used to support the Egyptian pharaoh who is believed to be a major character of the Old Testament has been spotted in Paris, according to an expert. Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier, an Egyptologist from Paris-Sorbonne University and Institut Catholique de Paris, recently spoke with Fox News Digital about his findings, which are set to be published in the coming months. The expert found the propaganda, which is supportive of Ramesses II, on the 3,300-year-old obelisk that sits in Paris' Place de la Concorde. Olette-Pelletier saw the obelisk up close in 2021 after receiving permission to climb scaffolding to conduct research. Ramesses II, who was born in 1303 B.C. and died in 1213 B.C., is considered one of the most influential and powerful Egyptian rulers of the New Kingdom. The Egyptian monarch is often cited as the most likely candidate for the pharaoh mentioned in Exodus, though an explicit name was never given in the Old Testament. The pharaoh is said to have retaliated against Moses and refused his requests in Exodus — resulting in a series of plagues. Olette-Pelletier called the pro-Ramesses hieroglyphs "propaganda." He identified seven cryptographies, or codes, which assert Ramesses II's authority from 1280 B.C. on. "It was a message from Ramesses II to the nobility," the expert said, noting the Egyptian nobility were able to read the codes. Olette-Pelletier said Ramesses II was born before his father Seti I became pharaoh – and therefore was not conceived by the gods. Not being of divine essence could have hampered his legitimacy to the throne. "The nobility, able to read cryptographies, might be tempted by an overthrow of power since Ramesses II was not born of theogamy and therefore not divine by birth," Olette-Pelletier said. The expert added, "[Ramesses II] spent the first two years of his reign emphasizing his divinity with his wife Nefertari by paying homage at Egypt's great shrines, and by buying priests." "In the process, he changed his name from Usermaatra to Usermaatra Setepenra, [which means] 'chosen of Ra.'" The obelisk has four sides, and Olette-Pelletier noted that the side that faces the Seine (and was intended to face the Nile) shows Ramesses II "wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt." The expert also said that Ramesses II "underlined his divine knowledge" by using codes to convey the swaying messages. "The obelisk also contains hidden texts that show the nobility that he is a legitimate and divine king, thus averting a possible coup d'état," Olette-Pelletier said. "So, indeed, these are propaganda texts." The cryptographies also claim that Ramesses II was the "provider of the Nile flood and thus of the country's wealth," according to Olette-Pelletier. The discovery is one of many finds related to Ramesses II that have been uncovered in the past year. In September, an ancient sword belonging to Ramesses' military was unearthed in Housh Eissa, a city in Egypt's Beheira Governorate. In January, Egyptian officials announced they would begin to restore Ramesses II's temple in the Luxor Governorate, the Ramesseum.
