Latest news with #SaintTropez
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Marcus Rashford spotted with a mystery blonde on a lavish Saint-Tropez getaway, wearing TWO luxury watches, a full Louis Vuitton outfit and carrying tobacco pouches as he waits for Man United transfer
Marcus Rashford has been spotted with a mystery blonde companion as he enjoyed a summer holiday in the French Riviera. In a series of photos the fashion-loving 27-year-old can be seen enjoying the Saint-Tropez sun whilst donning a matching two-piece Louis Vuitton set, with a luxury watch on either arm. While many of his international team-mates were in Spain for a warm-weather training camp ahead of England's clash with Andorra, Rashford took to the sea on a jet ski as he enjoyed some downtime. The Nike-sponsored athlete could also be seen wearing the highly-coveted Ben & Jerry's x Dunk Low SB trainers, which can fetch upwards of £3000 among collectors online. Despite a promising start, Rashford quickly fell out of favour at Manchester United following Ruben Amorim 's arrival as the club's new manager. The forward was subsequently sent out on loan to Aston Villa, where he made 17 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
The country that made smoking sexy is breaking up with cigarettes
PARIS (AP) — Brigitte Bardot lounged barefoot on a Saint-Tropez beach, drawing languorous puffs from her cigarette. Another actor, Jean-Paul Belmondo, swaggered down the Champs-Élysées with smoke curling from his defiant lips, capturing a generation's restless rebellion. In France, cigarettes were never just cigarettes — they were cinematic statements, flirtations and rebellions wrapped in rolling paper. Yet beginning July 1, if Bardot and Belmondo's iconic film scenes were repeated in real life, they would be subject to up to €135 ($153) in fines. After glamorizing tobacco for decades, France is preparing for its most sweeping smoking ban yet. The new restrictions, announced by Health Minister Catherine Vautrin, will outlaw smoking in virtually all outdoor public areas where children may gather, including beaches, parks, gardens, playgrounds, sports venues, school entrances and bus stops. 'Tobacco must disappear where there are children,' Vautrin told French media. The freedom to smoke 'stops where children's right to breathe clean air starts." If Vautrin's law reflects public health priorities, it also signals a deeper cultural shift. Smoking has defined identity, fashion and cinema here for so long that the new measure feels like a quiet French revolution in a country whose relationship with tobacco is famously complex. According to France's League Against Cancer, over 90 percent of French films from 2015 to 2019 featured smoking scenes — more than double the rate in Hollywood productions. Each French movie averaged nearly three minutes of on-screen smoking, effectively the same exposure as six 30-second television ads. Cinema has been particularly influential. Belmondo's rebellious smoker in Jean-Luc Godard 's 'Breathless' became shorthand for youthful defiance worldwide. Bardot's cigarette smoke wafted through 'And God Created Woman,' symbolizing unbridled sensuality. Yet this glamorization has consequences. According to France's public health authorities, around 75,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses each year. Although smoking rates have dipped recently — fewer than 25% of French adults now smoke daily, a historic low — the habit remains stubbornly embedded, especially among young people and the urban chic. France's relationship with tobacco has long been fraught with contradiction. Air France did not ban smoking on all its flights until 2000, years after major U.S. carriers began phasing it out in the late 1980s and early '90s. The delay reflected a country slower to sever its cultural romance with cigarettes, even at 35,000 feet. Strolling through the stylish streets of Le Marais, the trendiest neighborhood in Paris, reactions to the smoking ban ranged from pragmatic acceptance to nostalgic defiance. 'It's about time. I don't want my kids growing up thinking smoke is romantic,' said Clémence Laurent, a 34-year-old fashion buyer, sipping espresso at a crowded café terrace. 'Sure, Bardot made cigarettes seem glamorous. But Bardot didn't worry about today's warnings on lung cancer.' At a nearby boutique, vintage dealer Luc Baudry, 53, saw the ban as an attack on something essentially French. 'Smoking has always been part of our culture. Take away cigarettes and what do we have left? Kale smoothies?' he scoffed. Across from him, 72-year-old Jeanne Lévy chuckled throatily, her voice deeply etched — she said — by decades of Gauloises. 'I smoked my first cigarette watching Jeanne Moreau,' she confessed, eyes twinkling behind vintage sunglasses. 'It was her voice — smoky, sexy, lived-in. Who didn't want that voice?' Indeed, Jeanne Moreau's gravelly, nicotine-scraped voice transformed tobacco into poetry itself, immortalized in classics such as François Truffaut's 'Jules et Jim.' Smoking acquired an existential glamour that made quitting unimaginable for generations of French smokers. France's new law mirrors broader European trends. Britain, Spain and Sweden have all implemented significant smoking bans in public spaces. Sweden outlawed smoking in outdoor restaurant terraces, bus stops and schoolyards back in 2019. Spain extended its bans to café terraces, spaces still exempt in France—at least for now. In the Paris park Place des Vosges, literature student Thomas Bouchard clutched an electronic cigarette that is still exempt from the new ban and shrugged. 'Maybe vaping's our compromise,' he said, exhaling gently. 'A little less sexy, perhaps. But fewer wrinkles too.'
The Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
The country that made smoking sexy is breaking up with cigarettes
Brigitte Bardot lounged barefoot on a Saint-Tropez beach, drawing languorous puffs from her cigarette. Another actor, Jean-Paul Belmondo, swaggered down the Champs-Élysées with smoke curling from his defiant lips, capturing a generation's restless rebellion. In France, cigarettes were never just cigarettes — they were cinematic statements, flirtations and rebellions wrapped in rolling paper. Yet beginning July 1, if Bardot and Belmondo's iconic film scenes were repeated in real life, they would be subject to up to €135 ($153) in fines. After glamorizing tobacco for decades, France is preparing for its most sweeping smoking ban yet. The new restrictions, announced by Health Minister Catherine Vautrin, will outlaw smoking in virtually all outdoor public areas where children may gather, including beaches, parks, gardens, playgrounds, sports venues, school entrances and bus stops. 'Tobacco must disappear where there are children,' Vautrin told French media. The freedom to smoke 'stops where children's right to breathe clean air starts." If Vautrin's law reflects public health priorities, it also signals a deeper cultural shift. Smoking has defined identity, fashion and cinema here for so long that the new measure feels like a quiet French revolution in a country whose relationship with tobacco is famously complex. According to France's League Against Cancer, over 90 percent of French films from 2015 to 2019 featured smoking scenes — more than double the rate in Hollywood productions. Each French movie averaged nearly three minutes of on-screen smoking, effectively the same exposure as six 30-second television ads. Cinema has been particularly influential. Belmondo's rebellious smoker in Jean-Luc Godard 's 'Breathless' became shorthand for youthful defiance worldwide. Bardot's cigarette smoke wafted through 'And God Created Woman,' symbolizing unbridled sensuality. Yet this glamorization has consequences. According to France's public health authorities, around 75,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses each year. Although smoking rates have dipped recently — fewer than 25% of French adults now smoke daily, a historic low — the habit remains stubbornly embedded, especially among young people and the urban chic. France's relationship with tobacco has long been fraught with contradiction. Air France did not ban smoking on all its flights until 2000, years after major U.S. carriers began phasing it out in the late 1980s and early '90s. The delay reflected a country slower to sever its cultural romance with cigarettes, even at 35,000 feet. Strolling through the stylish streets of Le Marais, the trendiest neighborhood in Paris, reactions to the smoking ban ranged from pragmatic acceptance to nostalgic defiance. 'It's about time. I don't want my kids growing up thinking smoke is romantic,' said Clémence Laurent, a 34-year-old fashion buyer, sipping espresso at a crowded café terrace. 'Sure, Bardot made cigarettes seem glamorous. But Bardot didn't worry about today's warnings on lung cancer.' At a nearby boutique, vintage dealer Luc Baudry, 53, saw the ban as an attack on something essentially French. 'Smoking has always been part of our culture. Take away cigarettes and what do we have left? Kale smoothies?' he scoffed. Across from him, 72-year-old Jeanne Lévy chuckled throatily, her voice deeply etched — she said — by decades of Gauloises. 'I smoked my first cigarette watching Jeanne Moreau,' she confessed, eyes twinkling behind vintage sunglasses. 'It was her voice — smoky, sexy, lived-in. Who didn't want that voice?' Indeed, Jeanne Moreau's gravelly, nicotine-scraped voice transformed tobacco into poetry itself, immortalized in classics such as François Truffaut's 'Jules et Jim.' Smoking acquired an existential glamour that made quitting unimaginable for generations of French smokers. France's new law mirrors broader European trends. Britain, Spain and Sweden have all implemented significant smoking bans in public spaces. Sweden outlawed smoking in outdoor restaurant terraces, bus stops and schoolyards back in 2019. Spain extended its bans to café terraces, spaces still exempt in France—at least for now. In the Paris park Place des Vosges, literature student Thomas Bouchard clutched an electronic cigarette that is still exempt from the new ban and shrugged. 'Maybe vaping's our compromise,' he said, exhaling gently. 'A little less sexy, perhaps. But fewer wrinkles too.'
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
The country that made smoking sexy is breaking up with cigarettes
PARIS (AP) — Brigitte Bardot lounged barefoot on a Saint-Tropez beach, drawing languorous puffs from her cigarette. Another actor, Jean-Paul Belmondo, swaggered down the Champs-Élysées with smoke curling from his defiant lips, capturing a generation's restless rebellion. In France, cigarettes were never just cigarettes — they were cinematic statements, flirtations and rebellions wrapped in rolling paper. Yet beginning July 1, if Bardot and Belmondo's iconic film scenes were repeated in real life, they would be subject to up to €135 ($153) in fines. After glamorizing tobacco for decades, France is preparing for its most sweeping smoking ban yet. The new restrictions, announced by Health Minister Catherine Vautrin, will outlaw smoking in virtually all outdoor public areas where children may gather, including beaches, parks, gardens, playgrounds, sports venues, school entrances and bus stops. 'Tobacco must disappear where there are children,' Vautrin told French media. The freedom to smoke 'stops where children's right to breathe clean air starts.' If Vautrin's law reflects public health priorities, it also signals a deeper cultural shift. Smoking has defined identity, fashion and cinema here for so long that the new measure feels like a quiet French revolution in a country whose relationship with tobacco is famously complex. According to France's League Against Cancer, over 90 percent of French films from 2015 to 2019 featured smoking scenes — more than double the rate in Hollywood productions. Each French movie averaged nearly three minutes of on-screen smoking, effectively the same exposure as six 30-second television ads. Cinema has been particularly influential. Belmondo's rebellious smoker in Jean-Luc Godard 's 'Breathless' became shorthand for youthful defiance worldwide. Bardot's cigarette smoke wafted through 'And God Created Woman,' symbolizing unbridled sensuality. Yet this glamorization has consequences. According to France's public health authorities, around 75,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses each year. Although smoking rates have dipped recently — fewer than 25% of French adults now smoke daily, a historic low — the habit remains stubbornly embedded, especially among young people and the urban chic. France's relationship with tobacco has long been fraught with contradiction. Air France did not ban smoking on all its flights until 2000, years after major U.S. carriers began phasing it out in the late 1980s and early '90s. The delay reflected a country slower to sever its cultural romance with cigarettes, even at 35,000 feet. Strolling through the stylish streets of Le Marais, the trendiest neighborhood in Paris, reactions to the smoking ban ranged from pragmatic acceptance to nostalgic defiance. 'It's about time. I don't want my kids growing up thinking smoke is romantic,' said Clémence Laurent, a 34-year-old fashion buyer, sipping espresso at a crowded café terrace. 'Sure, Bardot made cigarettes seem glamorous. But Bardot didn't worry about today's warnings on lung cancer.' At a nearby boutique, vintage dealer Luc Baudry, 53, saw the ban as an attack on something essentially French. 'Smoking has always been part of our culture. Take away cigarettes and what do we have left? Kale smoothies?' he scoffed. Across from him, 72-year-old Jeanne Lévy chuckled throatily, her voice deeply etched — she said — by decades of Gauloises. 'I smoked my first cigarette watching Jeanne Moreau,' she confessed, eyes twinkling behind vintage sunglasses. 'It was her voice — smoky, sexy, lived-in. Who didn't want that voice?' Indeed, Jeanne Moreau's gravelly, nicotine-scraped voice transformed tobacco into poetry itself, immortalized in classics such as François Truffaut's 'Jules et Jim.' Smoking acquired an existential glamour that made quitting unimaginable for generations of French smokers. France's new law mirrors broader European trends. Britain, Spain and Sweden have all implemented significant smoking bans in public spaces. Sweden outlawed smoking in outdoor restaurant terraces, bus stops and schoolyards back in 2019. Spain extended its bans to café terraces, spaces still exempt in France—at least for now. In the Paris park Place des Vosges, literature student Thomas Bouchard clutched an electronic cigarette that is still exempt from the new ban and shrugged. 'Maybe vaping's our compromise,' he said, exhaling gently. 'A little less sexy, perhaps. But fewer wrinkles too.'
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
The unlikely duo defying barriers on a French road trip to remember
Two friends, one with rheumatoid arthritis and the other blind, are defying limitations by participating in a women-only vintage car race across France. Merete Buljo, whose painful joints prevent her from driving a stick shift, and Tonje Thoresen, a former photographer who lost her sight to a brain tumor five years ago, are navigating their way from Paris to Saint-Tropez. Their motto, "Making the impossible possible!", reflects their determination to showcase their capabilities. Inspired by the film Thelma & Louise, they even sought out a Ford Thunderbird, the same car driven by the movie's protagonists. "When we were looking for a car we thought, 'Oh, a Ford Thunderbird. It would just be perfect!'" Thoresen said. Buljo adds, "That is us!", embracing the spirit of female empowerment and adventure on the open road. Thoresen is one of two blind navigators in the five-day Princesses Rally that roared off Sunday from Paris. Juliette Lepage, blind from birth, is the other, navigating a 1977 MG. Rallies are long-distance road races, typically with stages and checkpoints. Without sight, Thoresen says her other senses are working overtime on the roads of springtime France: The smells of flowers and vegetation and of farming in the fields; the sharp chill of tunnels they whizz through. And the orchestra of vintage engines — some throaty, others purring — racing down back-country roads. That's music to the ears for petrol-heads like Thoresen, who says she can identify some cars just by their sounds and when they're developing mechanical problems. 'I'm passionate about those sounds. It gives me adrenaline," she said. Thoresen was incredulous when Buljo proposed that they enter the rally together. 'I said, 'What? But I'm blind!' And she said, 'Yeah. And so what?'' Thoresen recounted. 'She's very much like, 'We can do everything — everything that is impossible is possible to do.'' Unfortunately, the 1990 Pontiac Firebird they planned to drive couldn't keep pace with their ambition. It has an automatic gearbox — easier with the arthritis that Buljo has battled since childhood. 'Because of my legs, I can't drive a normal gearbox. I also have some problems with my hands, so I can't be on the gearbox all the time,' she said. 'For me, driving has always been so very important for my freedom because I always have, more or less, pain in my legs, my knees, my ankles, everything.' But the car broke down a week before the start. They had to fall back on a last-minute modern replacement that's ineligible for the rally, which is open only to cars built between 1946 and 1991. Still, organisers allowed them to come along for the ride, with the competitors, and keep their race name: Team Valkyries, drawn from powerful female figures in Norse mythology. Having secured sponsors and crowd funding, Buljo and Thoresen didn't want their efforts to go to waste. They're using this rally as training, figuring out together how Thoresen can help navigate the route and its checkpoints, even though she can't see it. Participants aren't allowed to use GPS navigational aids and Thoresen hasn't yet learned Braille, which Lepage, the other blind navigator, uses to read and give directions. But Thoresen says she's become as reliable as London's Big Ben at measuring the passage of time, so can advise when it's the right moment to make a turn. And Buljo says she's able to memorise route notes. 'I have an inside map and Tonje has an inside clock, so we make a great team," she said. Besides, simply getting from Point A to Point B was never their priority. "We wanted to also show that it's very important to not be ashamed of your handicap," Thoresen said. 'It's very important to kind of be proud of the competences that you still have and to dare to do stuff.'
