On April 24th 2021 a female councillor publicly accused French journalist and polemicist Éric Zemmour of having forcibly kissed her. Mediapart has gathered the accounts of several other women who have also condemned the actions and behaviour of the journalist from Le Figaro newspaper and CNews news channel, whom some on the far-right want to be a candidate in next year's presidential election in France. When approached by Mediapart, Zemmour declined to respond to the allegations. Lénaïg Bredoux, David Perrotin and Marine Turchi report.
The massive fires that destroyed hundreds of hectares close to the Provençal town of Aix-en-Provence this weekend, cutting off roads and rail lines, are believed to have been cause by a discarded cigarette officials said, as soaring temperatures in southern France this week are keeping firefighters on alert.