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OFFBEAT

French thieves steal Portuguese team’s boots

Thieves stole all the boots of Sporting Braga players from their changing room as they prepared for their Europa League match at Olympique Marseille, police said.

French thieves steal Portuguese team's boots
Who stole Braga's boots? Photo: AFP

Marseille had to buy 46 pairs of new boots and even offered to charter a special flight to bring footwear from Portugal after the disappearance.

The Portuguese outfit left their boots in their dressing room at Marseille's Stade Velodrome stadium after training there on Wednesday night.

On Thursday there was no trace of the studded footwear.

“There is nothing which allows us to contradict the Portuguese officials' version of events,” a police spokesman said Friday.

The match went ahead with the French team triumphing 1-0.

Some of the Braga team used reserve pairs of boots which they had brought with them and left at their hotel. Others had to use the new boots bought by Marseille.

“I find this incredible. No door had been forced, how did the boots disappear?” said Braga's president Antonio Salvador Rodrigues on Thursday.

Braga have registered an official complaint with police, who said an investigation is ongoing.

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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.

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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