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France Tag

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 16, 2016 22 Comments
We've been covering the Nice, France terrorist attack here at LI, including updates as more information becomes available.  Today, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the terror attack that killed 84 people, including two Americans, and wounded hundreds more. The New York Times reports:
The Islamic State claimed on Saturday that the man who attacked the seaside city of Nice, France, was one of the group’s “soldiers.” France’s defense minister promptly blamed the terrorist network for inspiring the assault, while its top law enforcement official said the attacker, who was not previously known to intelligence agencies, may have “radicalized himself very quickly.”

. . . .  The Islamic State had kept silent on the Nice attack until Saturday morning, when it declared, in a bulletin issued in Arabic and in English on its Amaq News Agency channel:

“Executor of the deadly operation in Nice, France, was a soldier of the Islamic State. He executed the operation in response to calls to target citizens of coalition nations, which fight the Islamic State.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 14, 2016 44 Comments
Breaking news reports indicate a large truck ploughed through pedestrians celebrating Bastille Day in the southern beach town, Nice. American media reports as many as ten dead, but foreign outlets have reported as many as 73. Latest updates at bottom of the post; refresh for most recent coverage. What we know:

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on June 28, 2016 17 Comments
With EU leadership in Brussels still coming to terms with Britain leaving the union, following the last week's stunning performance by the Brexit campaign in the referendum, popular movements across Europe have renewed their calls to leave the European Union. Nowhere is the opposition to the EU politically better organised than in France. In a poll conducted by University of Edinburgh in March this year, more than half of the French respondents were in favour of a Frexit -- France leaving the EU. Brexit comes as a shot in the arm for Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's right-wing Front National, as she prepares for the presidential election coming up next year. Le Pen's anti-immigration and Eurosceptic party has shown impressive run in the country's regional elections. Now Le Pen wants to make France’s EU membership a central theme of her presidential campaign, as EU establishes itself as the driving force behind the mass immigration and open border policy, with Brussels actively blocking and penalising EU member state from enforcing even basic border controls. In the aftermath of last November’s Paris attacks, a growing number of people in French want to see an end to the open border policy.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on June 07, 2016 3 Comments
Despite massive security measures, dubbed by the French news agency AFP as a “State of Emergency”, the authorities in France remain fearful of a new wave of Islamist terror during the European soccer tournament Euro 2016 -- due to start this week. Over a million soccer fans from all across Europe are expected to visit France during the month long sporting event. France’s President Francois Hollande admitted the likelihood of fresh terrorist attacks during Euro 2016, saying that the Islamist threat “will unfortunately be there for a long time,” even as he refused to be “intimidated” by it. The European soccer championship is being held just six months after a group of suicide bombers tried to enter a stadium in Paris packed with thousands of fans during a soccer match between Germany and France. Despite the foiled attempt, terrorists, owing allegiance Islamic Caliphate (ISIS), killed around 130 people in Paris, arguably one of the most deadly Islamist attacks Europe had ever witnessed.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 03, 2016 5 Comments
Devastating floods have forced officials to shut down the Louvre and evacuate priceless works of art. The Louvre houses the Mona Lisa, but workers assured people she will remain protected on her upper floor. But the most visited museum in Europe must shut down:
"Due to the level of the river Seine, the Musée du Louvre will be exceptionally closed to the public on June 3, 2016 to ensure the protection of the works located in flood zones. We apologize for any inconvenience caused," the museum said on its website.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 30, 2016 8 Comments
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time in France studying World War II. I left with an incredible appreciation for our veterans and their sacrifice. This is the story of my visit to the Memorial Cemetery at Omaha Beach. As we celebrate Memorial Day, may we always remember those that paid the ultimate price for freedom. I woke up a little cranky. The long, bumpy bus ride certainly didn’t help to improve my already sour mood. I knew I shouldn’t have stayed out so late. Seven o’clock was way too early to be traipsing up and down a beach; I really hoped there was a place to get a good, strong cup of coffee nearby. As the bus turned into a small parking lot, I pulled the headphones out of my ears and tucked my iPod into my little pink bag. Our professor informed us we’d reached our destination. After the bus parked, we all filed out methodically. Surveying the group it seemed as though I wasn’t the only one having a hard time waking up. The morning was gray, cold and solemn. It was cooler than I anticipated. I zipped up my jacket, tucked my hands into my pockets and fell in line with the group.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 24, 2016 10 Comments
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French Prime Minister Manuel Valls he wants to hold a one-on-one meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas instead of a multinational conference in Paris. Netanyahu thinks Abbas will use the conference as a way to ignore direct negotiations with Israel. France has scheduled the peace talks for the beginning of June without Israel or Palestinian Authority representatives. From The Times of Israel:
“The Palestinian Authority does not see the French initiative as an inducer for negotiations, but as a way to avoid them,” he said. Instead, Netanayhu said, he would be willing to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “in Paris or wherever,” and hold face-to-face negotiations without international mediation. “Every difficult issue will be on the table,” he said.
France plans to host another conference with Israel and Palestine in the autumn.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 05, 2016 2 Comments
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad confirmed he will sign a bill that will not allow public companies to do business with firms involved in Israel boycotts. Iowa's Senate passed House File 2331 last week in a 38-9 vote. The legislators hope the bill counters "efforts of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement." Palestinian groups began the movement in 2005 as a way to money and goods from Israel. "I just think it is wrong to be boycotting our friend and ally, Israel," declared Gov. Branstad. "There is a lot of opportunity for us to do business with them, and I don’t believe we ought to be penalizing Israel, of all countries. They are one of our best friends and allies. This is something I strongly support."

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 03, 2016 19 Comments
Stewardesses for Air France have been ordered to wear headscarves when flying into Iran's capital of Tehran and they're not happy about it. The order has sparked a backlash. The Telegraph reports:
Air France stewardesses mutiny over order to wear headscarves Air France stewardesses, furious at being ordered to wear headscarves in Tehran, say they will refuse to fly to the Iranian capital when the airline resumes the service later this month.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 01, 2016 16 Comments
President Obama has long refused to concede that modern terror attacks are largely perpetrated by radical Muslims. But has the White House taken the terrorism white washing a step further? MRCTV reported that a video posted by the White House appears to edit out "Islamist Terrorism" from a recent speech given by French President Francois Hollande. While the words are in the speech transcript, they've been noticeably scrubbed from the video.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 17, 2016 6 Comments
On Wednesday, French Police arrested four suspected Islamists for planning yet another terrorist attack in Central Paris. French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, confirmed that at least one of the attested suspect was about to “undertake violent actions in France.” According French government more than 8,ooo French citizens have been identified as “radicalised.” The arrests in France come on the same day as the police in Belgium arrested two suspected ISIS terrorists in connection with the November Paris attacks that killed 130 people. British newspaper The Express reports:
The suspects are said to include two French brothers of Turkish origin, referred to as ‘Aytac and Ercan B.’ as well as ‘Youssef E.’, who TF1 reports is an Islamist well known to counter-terrorist services. Police arrested Youssef two years ago with two accomplices as they were preparing to leave to wage jihad in Syria, TF1 said. He was released from the prison in October 2015 and kept under house arrest since February 29, 2016 under France’s new state of emergency, which was brought in in the wake of the November 13 massacre.
Belgian Police also shot dead a gunman during its ongoing anti-terrorism raids. The gunman was identified as an illegal Algerian immigrant, Mohamed Belkaïd. Investigators found a Kalashnikov rifle, a book on Radical Islam (Salafism) and a flag of the Islamic State next to Belkaïd's body.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 10, 2016 5 Comments
On Wednesday, March 9, 2016, France was hit by nationwide protests and rail strikes. Students teamed up with unions across France to protest against the proposed labour reforms, including the scrapping of 35-hour working week. Sluggish economic growth and rising unemployment have forced France’s socialist President Francois Hollande to push for a labour market reform. The 35-hour working week was one of those brilliant 'social justice' job creation ideas, crafted by socialists to compel businesses to hire extra employees to compensate for the lost working hours. Introduced more than 15 years ago, 35-hour week failed to have any impact on country’s unemployment rate. France's stringent firing laws coupled with generous holidays, rest breaks and financial benefits have forced companies to relocate elsewhere. If enacted, the reforms threaten end France’s 35 hours working week for French employees in the private sector.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 17, 2016 5 Comments
French banking giant BNP Paribas is shutting down a major financing source for the Boycott, Divest and Sanction ("BDS") campaign in Germany.  This is the latest in an anti-BDS trend in Germany and, potentially, the first step in cutting of BDS funding in Europe. Benjamin Weinthall, a Fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies wrote in The Jerusalem Post:
The Munich-based DAB Bank is slated to discontinue the account of one of the top BDS campaign websites in Germany, the Jerusalem Post has learned. The BDS-Kampagne [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Campaign] group’s website lists DAB Bank Munich as the financial institution for electronic money transfers. The Post uncovered the DAB bank account for the BDS campaign website targeting Israel.
This is good news in-and-of-itself, but actually understates the implications.  First, it is part of a broader anti-BDS trend in Germany.  According to JPost:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 25, 2016 2 Comments
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says ISIS's fake document industry is booming. After obtaining blank passports, ISIS has successfully printed virtually undetectable counterfeits. It's unclear whether any of these fake passports have been used to enter the United States.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 24, 2016 7 Comments
The refugee crisis in Europe is causing a huge number of problems for European governments and people, and now British "anarchists" from No Borders have traveled to Calais to incite refugees to violence. The Daily Mail reports:

British anarchists were among some 35 people under arrest in Calais on Sunday after leading a 'scandalous' invasion of the ferry port by some 500 migrants.

Not only did the thugs tear down security fences and threaten violence, but they also defaced a statue of France's wartime leader and former president Charles de Gaulle.

Masked agitators from the left-wing group No Borders were filmed during the trouble on Saturday afternoon as they tried to get people to the UK.

Apparently, the "anarchists" were attempting to force officials to allow the "migrants" to enter the UK.

The Mail continues:

Posted by Jonathan Levin on January 03, 2016 3 Comments
In response to a year bookended by Islamist terror attacks in Paris, France has seen a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic attacks.  If the French/Islamist conflict continues to victimize Jews, as appears increasingly likely, it will further accelerate French Jewry's demise. In January the BBC wrote, "France is emerging from one of its worst security crises in decades."  That was in response to the Charlie Hebdo attack:
after three days of attacks by gunmen brought bloodshed to the capital Paris and its surrounding areas. It began with a massacre at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday 7 January and ended with a huge police operation and two sieges two days later.
Nobody knew at the time that Charlie Hebdo was but the prelude.  Ten months later, on Friday, November 13, an Islamic State cell killed 130 people at the Bataclan Theatre, the State de France and targets of opportunity in a popular nightlife spot.  The terrorists appear to have been assisted before and in real-time during the attacks by another cell or cells in Belgium.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on December 24, 2015 11 Comments
This year saw the destruction of some of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the Middle East. As predominantly Christian Europe braces itself to accommodate millions of new Muslim migrants this year alone, Christianity takes its last breath in region where it was first revealed to the world. Israel remains the only glaring exception to this dismal rule. The armed war against Christians is accompanied by a cultural war on Christmas. This year, Muslim countries like Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei joined the long list of Islamic nations banning the Christian festival -- in many cases making Christmas celebrations even in private settings a punishable offence. With the rising tide Islamist terror, even in the Christian heartland of Europe the Christmas is now under siege.
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