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HEALTH

Breast implants in focus after cancer death

Two women have developed serious illnesses after they received defective French-made silicone breast implants. Last week, a woman died from lymphatic cancer thought to have been contracted from her breast implants.

The implants shown here are not PIP implants.
Webphotographeer

A 36-year-old woman called Leaticia was diagnosed last month with ruptured breast implants, according to the French daily Aujourd’hui en France.

Her implants burst six months ago and the silicone gel has leaked into her shoulders, breasts and ribs. Leaticia was operated on in Spain where she received breast implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prothèses (PIP).

Another women who received PIP implants has been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. It is not yet clear what caused the cancer, but doctors advising a group representing the victims of PIP breast implants suspect the silicone gel used in PIP implants.

French implant manufacturer PIP was closed down by health authorities last year after they discovered the company was using non-medical silicone gel in implants which were twice as likely to rupture as other products in the same category. The company CEO is accused of fraud.

While it is feared that the silicone gel used in the PIP implants is linked to cancer, French health watchdog AFFSAPS has not been able to establish a link.

Last week, a woman – the first in France – died of lymphatic cancer in the southern city of Marseille after her PIP breast implants burst.

It is feared 44,000 women are still carrying PIP breast implants, which were sold in France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

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POLITICS

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

France has vowed to prevent a trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc from being signed with its current terms, as the country is rocked by farmer protests.

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

The trade deal, which would include agricultural powers Argentina and Brazil, is among a litany of complaints by farmers in France and elsewhere in Europe who have been blocking roads to demand better conditions for their sector.

They fear it would further depress their produce prices amid increased competition from exporting nations that are not bound by strict and costly EU environmental laws.

READ ALSO Should I cancel my trip to France because of farmers’ protests?

“This Mercosur deal, as it stands, is not good for our farmers. It cannot be signed as is, it won’t be signed as is,” Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told broadcasters CNews and Europe 1.

The European Commission acknowledged on Tuesday that the conditions to conclude the deal with Mercosur, which also includes Paraguay and Uruguay, “are not quite there yet”.

The talks, however, are continuing, the commission said.

READ ALSO 5 minutes to understand French farmer protests

President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France opposes the deal because it “doesn’t make Mercosur farmers and companies abide by the same rules as ours”.

The EU and the South American nations have been negotiating since 2000.

The contours of a deal were agreed in 2019, but a final version still needs to be ratified.

The accord aims to cut import tariffs on – mostly European – industrial and pharmaceutical goods, and on agricultural products.

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