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PSG beat Nice to edge closer to league title

Paris St-Germain recovered from their shock cup defeat to Evian last week when they cruised to victory against Nice at the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening. The win puts PSG within touching distance of their first league title for 19 years.

PSG beat Nice to edge closer to league title
Photo: Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal against Nice on Sunday. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP

Paris Saint-Germain moved another step closer to claiming their first Ligue 1 crown in 19 years with a commanding 3-0 victory over ten-man Nice on Sunday.

Jeremy Menez struck a tenth-minute opener at Parc des Princes, while Zlatan

Ibrahimovic netted his league-leading 27th goal from the penalty spot following goalkeeper David Ospina's dismissal before Clement Chantome added a late third to leave Carlo Ancelotti's side needing just seven points from their final five matches.

"I'm very happy tonight. We're nine points ahead, that means the title is close," said Ancelotti.

"The attitude was very good tonight. I think everyone was annoyed after the (defeat to Evian)," added the Italian, referring to PSG's midweek French Cup quarter-final exit.

Marseille's 1-0 win at home to lowly Brest on Saturday had seen the gap at the top temporarily reduced to six points, but the capital club put Wednesday's disappointment at Evian behind them to record their fifth win in six league matches.

Ibrahimovic almost gave PSG the lead inside five minutes only for his fierce effort to rattle the post after Nemanja Pejcinovic had failed to cut out Javier Pastore's clipped through ball.

But the hosts didn't have to wait long to break the deadlock as Ibrahimovic picked out Pastore at the far post with the Argentine managing to maintain control despite a despairing dive from Ospina before laying the ball on for Menez to stab home from six yards.

Only a sharp reflex save from Ospina denied Ezequiel Lavezzi a second shortly after, but the Colombian's evening was to come to an abrupt end just past the hour as he was shown a straight red for scything down Lavezzi inside the area.

A loose touch from Ospina following a Didier Digard back pass allowed the Argentine to nip in and steal the ball before he was sent tumbling by the Nice keeper.

Ibrahimovic calmly drilled the resulting penalty past substitute custodian Joris Delle to put PSG 2-0 ahead before Ospina's replacement made a fine low block to deny the Swede from adding to his tally.

Delle was helpless as the hosts netted a third two minutes from time though as Ibrahimovic exchanged passes with Blaise Matuidi before squaring for Chantome to guide into an empty net.

Earlier, Lille climbed to fourth after a dramatic 2-1 victory at Bastia.

Wahbi Khazri put the Corsicans ahead just after the break, but a stunning Lucas Digne strike hauled the visitors level five minutes from the end before Marko Basa netted a stoppage-time winner to hand a resurgent Lille their eighth win in 10 outings.

Nancy moved out of the relegation zone for the first time since September with a 3-1 home win over fellow strugglers Evian, while Sochaux slid into the bottom three after twice conceding the lead in a 2-2 draw against visiting Bordeaux.

Jeremie Aliadiere was again the hero for Lorient as the Brittany club followed up Tuesday's French Cup quarter-final victory over Saint-Etienne with a 1-0 triumph at Toulouse, while Valenciennes halted their winless streak at eight games after beating Reims 1-0.

On Saturday, in-form Marseille stretched their unbeaten run to seven games and climbed back into second place, two points ahead of Lyon, after beating relegation-threatened Brest at the Stade Velodrome.

A fine Benoit Cheyrou free-kick just before half-time gave Elie Baup's side all three points thanks to their 11th 1-0 victory of the campaign as they extended their run of clean sheets to six matches.

Meanwhile, Lyon recorded a dramatic 2-1 win at out-going champions Montpellier on Friday, with Clement Grenier scoring a marvellous stoppage-time winner after Younes Belhanda had cancelled out Lisandro Lopez's first-half opener for Remi Garde's side.

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RELIGION

French electrician sues Netflix for labelling him a radical Islamist

A French man of North African origin has accused Netflix of racial discrimination for labelling him a radical Islamist in an action movie for which he was filmed without his knowledge, his lawyer said on Monday.

French electrician sues Netflix for labelling him a radical Islamist
The Netflix movie Sentinelle was set and filmed in Nice. Photo: Valery Hache/AFP

Sentinelle, set in the southern city of Nice, tells the story of an elite French soldier returning from service in Syria who embarks on a mission to find the man who raped her sister.

One scene shows the protagonist, Klara, looking through the sights of her rifle at two young friends saying goodbye to each other.

The scene was shot on the Promenade des Anglais, the seaside walk where a Tunisian radical mowed down 86 people with a truck on July 14th, 2016.

The French subtitles Netflix provided to describe the scene for the hard of hearing refer to two young “barbus” – a derogatory term for ultraconservative Muslim men that means “the bearded ones”.

One of the men, a 21-year-old electrician from Nice, filed a criminal complaint against Netflix over the description, accusing the company of “provoking discrimination and racial hatred,” his lawyer Jean-Pascal Padovani said.

“The director took the liberty of drawing a line between the North African features of the people he filmed… and religious fundamentalists,” Padovani said.

That the shot was filmed at the scene of one of the worst terror attacks in French history was even more suggestive, he added.

“It’s unacceptable as it suggests that anyone of North African origin is a potential terrorist,” Padovani said.

A spokesperson for Netflix, which was targeted by the complaint as the film’s broadcaster, declined to comment on the matter when contacted by AFP.

It has, however, removed the term “barbus” from the audio description.

Padovani said that his client had received over 80 messages from acquaintances who recognised him in the film, which was shot in 2019 and began streaming on Netflix in March.

Some expressed shock at seeing him depicted as a terrorist, he said.

The complainant is also considering suing Netflix for using his image for commercial purposes without his permission, Padovani said.

Sentinelle was directed by French film-maker Julien Leclercq.

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