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MILITARY

IN PICS: France boosts campaign against Isis

France's biggest aircraft carrier is on its way to the eastern Mediterranean as part of efforts to amp up operations in Syria in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Published: 18 November 2015 15:07 CET
IN PICS: France boosts campaign against Isis
French naval technicians working on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle. Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP.
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle steamed ahead out of the southern port of Toulon on Wednesday towards the eastern Mediterranean, prepared to bolster France's campaign against Isis.
 
The French presidency said earlier this month that it would deploy the aircraft carrier to boost airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, but now the country has renewed conviction to fight the jihadist group following the attacks in Paris on Friday.
 
President François Hollande vowed to crush Isis and called the coordinated attacks that killed 129 people “acts of war.”
 

Aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle leaves the southern French port of Toulon on Wednesday. Photo: Boris Horvat/AFP.
 
The presence of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the flagship of the French navy, will add to the six Rafale jets stationed in the United Arab Emirates and the six Mirages flying out of Jordan.


A French flag flies above French naval technicians working on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle at a military port in the southern French city of Toulon. Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP.

The Charles de Gaulle did a two-month stint in the Gulf from February, from where strikes against Isis in Iraq were carried out, before returning to its base in the French port of Toulon.

France launched air strikes against the jihadists in Syria in October, after a year of bombing Isis in Iraq, saying it was acting in self defence.


Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP.

A monitoring group said on Wednesday that French-Russian airstrikes had killed at least 33 jihadists from Isis in Raqqa, Syria.

Since beginning operations in Iraq, French fighter jets have carried out more than 1,200 aerial missions the destruction of at least 450 targets.


Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP.

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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