English

The Thiaroye massacre: eighty years on the fight for justice continues

International

The exact number of “tirailleurs” – the infantrymen from France’s sub-Saharan colonies – who died alongside Mbap Senghor when the French army turned on its own on December 1st 1944 at the military camp of Thiaroye in Senegal is still unknown. Some historians estimate the toll at between 300 and 400 men, all of whom had fought for France in WWII. They were gunned down for protesting, in what the French authorities misleadingly described as an “armed mutiny”, over backpay they were promised but never received. Clair Rivière reports on the long fight for justice by Mbap Senghor’s son Biram, now aged 86 and who is still waiting.

Paris to deploy 4,000 police officers for France-Israel match

International — Link

Authorities aim to ensure  security in and around the stadium and on public transport a week after violence against Israeli fans in Amsterdam.

Starmer is first UK PM to mark Armistice Day in France since 1944

International — Link

The British prime minister is the first to do  since Winston Churchill joined General de Gaulle in 1944.

French rail unions call for strikes in run up to Christmas

France — Link

Trade unions at France's railway operator SNCF are demanding a moratorium on the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the national rail operator's freight division.

French writer Caroline Fourest sued for libel over book critical of #MeToo movement

France

The writer, journalist and broadcaster Caroline Fourest caused controversy earlier this year when she published a book called 'Le Vertige MeToo' or 'The MeToo Vertigo' about the #MeToo phenomenon. According to Mediapart's information, actor Sand Van Roy - the complainant in the sexual assault case involving filmmaker Luc Besson which was later dropped- is now suing Caroline Fourest and her publisher over that book. In particular Sand Van Roy accuses the author of having repeated 'fake news' which had already been denied several times – and without seeking her point of view first. Marine Turchi reports.

Ministers spearhead 'relentless war' on France's drug trade

France — Link

Illicit drug trade, now estimated to generate between €3.5 and €6 billion annually, has provoked brutal turf wars between rival criminal networks in France.

French minister cancels visit after Israelis arrest gendarmes

International — Link

France summons Israeli ambassador over incident at Eleona domain in Jerusalem which is under French control.

The world now has a fascistic 'madman' at its helm

International — Opinion

Donald Trump’s election marks a victory for white supremacy in the United States. In an apocalyptic atmosphere, the repercussions of his win beyond America's borders are alarming: it will undermine democracies, women and minorities worldwide, while at the same time helping to embolden the far-right and dictators of all kinds, writes Mediapart's publishing editor Carine Fouteau in this op-ed article. All we can do, she argues, is resist – and strengthen the bulwarks of democracy.

French minister attacks 'Free Palestine' banner at PSG match

France — Link

Interior minister Bruno Retailleau spoke out after fans at the Paris club unfurled the banner at a Champions League match in the French capital on Wednesday. 

Trump's election triumph: why the French government regards it as business as usual

International

French president Emmanuel Macron was one of the very first heads of state to congratulate the new American president after his election win. Seen from Paris, the return to power of the far-right leader does not provoke fear or any particular reaction. However, France's head of state is set to call for a “strong and united” European response to the election outcome when he attends a meeting in Hungary later this week. Mediapart's Ilyes Ramdani reports. 

People-smuggling gang members jailed in France

France — Link

The group - which prosecutors described as "merchants of death" - comprised mostly of Iraqi Kurds and were prosecuted after a Europe-wide operation in 2022.

How beheaded teacher’s school dealt with Islamist hate campaign

France

The trial of eight people accused of various roles in the October 2020 stabbing murder and beheading of school teacher Samuel Paty began this week in Paris. The killer, an 18-year-old Chechen, was shot dead by police at the scene of the attack, in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. Paty was murdered after showing cartoons of the prophet Muhammed, published by Charlie Hebdo magazine, to a class he held on the subject of free speech. Mathilde Goanec reports here on the handling by the education authorities and Paty’s school colleagues of the 10-day period before he was attacked when the teacher was the target of mounting threats from Islamist militants and their sympathisers.

Four wounded in axe-wielding fight on Paris commuter train

France — Link

Four people were wounded, including one whose hand was cut off, in a fight reportedly between rival teenage gangs on an RER Paris commuter train at the Ozoir-la-Ferrière station in the south-east suburbs of the capital. 

Kamel Daoud wins France's prestigious Goncourt literary prize

France — Link

Algerian-French author and journalist Kamel Daoud, 54, has won France's most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, for his novel Houris set in the 1990s war in Algeria between Islamists and the government.

Eight stand trial in Paris over beheading of teacher

France — Link

Seven men and a woman stand trial in Paris on Monday accused variously of aiding and abetting a murder and terrorist conspiracy over the beheading in 2020 of Samuel Paty, a school teacher in a Paris suburb who was attacked by an Islamist of Chechen origin following a post of outrage on social media by a Muslim father, one of the accused, whose daughter lied that Paty had discriminated against Muslim classmates.