EXCLUSIVE France is on the brink of full-scale civil war. I've lived here for 25 years and the locals have had enough of the violence caused by hordes of destructive youths. The state has lost control - and I fear what's coming next: JONATHAN MILLER
'You French have always been rather good at decapitation,' I said, gesturing towards a spot outside the post office, where the town guillotine had stood in an earlier era. Nobody laughed. 'They should bring the guillotine back,' said the fishmonger. 'We need it more than ever.' He wasn't joking and other customers nodded vigorously.
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BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bath public toilets are 'few and far between', council told
A lack of public toilets in a city has left elderly people in tears and pushed customers away from local businesses, councillors have and North East Somerset Council has unanimously backed a call to review the "very few and far between" public toilet provision in the tour guide Ed Browning told a council meeting: "The one constant negative is the embarrassment of apologising for the lack of public facilities."But senior councillors have warned it will be a "huge challenge" to improve the situation. Mr Browning, whose family also run the delicatessen in the Guildhall Market, told the meeting on on 17 July he had seen elderly people reduced to tears after not being able to reach the toilet in time."Aside from 'what's a scotch egg?', the most consistent question I get on a daily basis is 'where are the toilets?'," he said. 'Significant' vandalism Councillors were voting over a motion tabled by Robin Moss, the leader of the Labour opposition on the council, to assess the need for public toilets and "prioritise better provision of clean, accessible public toilets" across Bath and North East Somerset. Independent councillor Shaun Hughes, who represents Midsomer Norton, said the lack of public toilets there was one of the issues most commonly raised with him by the said: "We know this affects footfall in our town, but more importantly excludes large sections of our community. It undermines dignity. It makes our town less accessible."The council's cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development Paul Roper seconded the motion which he said was already something under review and being he warned: "We will face a huge challenge on providing the necessary funding to significantly improve and increase the current provisions."He added: "The issues we face are not just about funding. I cannot overstate the significance of vandalism and anti-social behaviour."Our existing facilities are subject to significant vandalism and in some cases within a matter of hours of being repaired they are shut again."
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
French president and wife sue rightwing US commentator Candace Owens for defamation
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte Macron, are suing the rightwing commentator Candace Owens for defamation. In a suit filed on Wednesday in Delaware against Owens and her businesses, the Macrons say Owens has engaged in ongoing defamatory attacks against them in order to elevate her media platform, gain more audience and make money. Owens said in early 2024 that she would 'stake [her] entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man'. Since then, she has doubled down on these claims and added more, including in an eight-part podcast series called Becoming Brigitte, the lawsuit alleges. The Macrons sought retractions from Owens, the suit says, for the 'demonstrably false' claims she has made about them but she instead 'mocked them and used them as additional fodder for her frenzied fan base'. 'These outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions included that Mrs Macron was born a man, stole another person's identity, and transitioned to become Brigitte; Mrs Macron and President Macron are blood relatives committing incest; President Macron was chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program; and Mrs Macron and President Macron are committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets. 'Because Ms Owens systematically reaffirmed these falsehoods in response to each of our attorneys' repeated requests for a retraction, we ultimately concluded that referring the matter to a court of law was the only remaining avenue,' the Macrons said in a statement. 'Ms Owens' campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety. We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused. It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.' The falsehoods have taken a toll on the Macrons, who are now subjected to 'a campaign of global humiliation, turning their lives into fodder for profit-driven lies' and 'relentless bullying on a worldwide scale'. Beyond the reputational damage, they have spent 'considerable sums of money to correct the public record', including on legal counsel. 'Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications. It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust,' the suit says. According to the Financial Times, the Macrons are willing to appear in court in Delaware for a trial. They are represented by Clare Locke, a heavyweight law firm that has won major defamation cases, including the Dominion lawsuit against Fox News. The lawsuit came after the Macrons have sent three separate retraction demands to Owens that included evidence disproving her claims, which she has used to 'further taunt the Macrons' and 'invent even more damaging lies', a press release from Locke says. In a statement, a spokesperson for Owens said the commentator was 'not shutting up'. Owens is expected to address the lawsuit on her show on Wednesday. 'This is a foreign government attacking the first amendment rights of an American independent journalist. Candace repeatedly requested an interview with Brigitte Macron. Instead of offering a comment, Brigitte is resorting to trying to bully a reporter into submission. In France, politicians can bully journalists, but this is not France. It's America.' It is unusual for a sitting president to sue a journalist, though Donald Trump has filed multiple lawsuits, some of which have led to settlements, against US media outlets in recent months. Attacks on Brigitte Macron's appearance and falsehoods about her gender have circulated for years, though Owens amplified them considerably in the US. Other prominent women in politics, including Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris have faced these kinds of 'secretly transgender' social media campaigns, the Wilson Center noted in a 2021 report on the 'deeply misogynistic' trend. 'These narratives tap into the trope of the duplicitous woman, implying that not only are transgender individuals inherently deceptive, but that this deception is responsible for the power and influence that these women hold,' the report said. The Macrons have previously filed legal claims against two women in France over their theory that Brigitte Macron is a biological male. They were initially found guilty of libel, though that was then overturned, which Brigitte Macron has now appealed.
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
From the archive: Eight lost in bathing accidents
From The Times: July 24, 1925 Three bathers, two men and a woman, were drowned off the Côte des Basques to-day. One of them, Mrs Albert Williams, wife of an Englishman, having ventured beyond the limits where the bathing is considered safe, was warned by a whistle from M Carcabues, the swimming master, who is entrusted with keeping a watch over the bathers. Unfortunately the warning was not heard, and suddenly Mrs Williams struck violently against a rock and sank. Her daughter went to her assistance, but failed to secure her, and was herself only rescued just in time by M Carcabues, while another bather, Mr James Gennet, an artist, of London, who also endeavoured to give assistance, in his turn disappeared. After bringing Miss Williams to safety, M Carcabues again returned to the rock where Mrs Williams had disappeared, and succeeded in securing her and also Mr Gennet, and in fastening them together with a rope in order to bring them back to land; but the force of the waves beating on the rocks was so great that the cord broke, and the heroic rescuer was himself swept away with the other two persons, all three being drowned. Two of the bodies have been recovered, but that of M Carcabues has not yet been found. ● An Aberystwyth message states that three Boy Scouts, of Winsford (Cheshire) Troop, have been drowned. The troop arrived at Aberdovey to camp on Saturday, and a bathing parade took place on Wednesday afternoon, a bathing picket and three lifebelts being ready. The spot was considered safe. There was a shout for help, and Captain Richard Bell, a local man, put out in a motor-boat to assist. The boys appeared panic-stricken, and nine were taken from the sea in a collapsed state. A roll-call proved that Raymond Stringer (19), William Hough (13), and George Egerton were missing. Despite the patrolling of the shore till midnight by residents and Scouts, no trace of them was found. While bathing in the Thames Leonard Johnson (12), of Wedderburn-road, Barking, was drowned. William Cuthbert (18), an engineer, was drowned while bathing at Withernsea yesterday in the presence of his fiancée. Explore 200 years of history as it appeared in the pages of The Times, from 1785 to 1985:
