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MUSIC

The Doors threaten to sue Paris theme bar

Lawyers for US rock group The Doors have threatened legal action against a Paris bar devoted to the band, saying it did not want to be associated with a drinking establishment.

Published: 10 June 2011 10:07 CEST
The Doors threaten to sue Paris theme bar

“I have received a letter from the lawyers of The Doors who are giving me 60 days to change the bar’s posters, its name, the name of its cocktails and the website,” Christophe Maillet, manager of the Lezard King bar, told AFP.

“The Doors did not want to be associated with a drinks bar,” added Maillet, who opened the venue in September last year.

The bar’s name is a tribute to the band’s frontman Jim Morrison, who was known as the Lizard King after coining the term in a poem. It serves cocktails named after Doors songs such as “Soft Parade” and “Light My Fire”.

“I thought I was doing a good thing, burnishing the image of The Doors,” Maillet said. “I didn’t ask permission but I suspected they would immediately refuse if I did.”

He said he had told the US lawyers he would bend to their demand if they insisted.

Morrison died in Paris of a drug overdose in 1971 and is buried there in the Pere Lachaise cemetery.

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Published: 14 February 2024 13:01 CET
Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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