Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
PARIS TERROR AFTERMATH

TERRORISM

France raises thousands for Paris terror orphans

Online donators have opened their hearts and their wallets for two children who were orphaned when their parents died in the November 13th terror attacks in Paris.

Published: 26 November 2015 12:13 CET
France raises thousands for Paris terror orphans
Photo: Private
Lacrimioara and her husband Ciprian were just two of the 130 people who lost their life in the Paris terror attacks – both gunned down at the Belle Equipe bar on the rue de Charonne in the city's 11th arrondissement.
 
The couple, who were originally from Romania but who had lived in France for years, left behind them two children – 18-month-old Kevin-Lucas and 11-year-old Tania.
 
The children have been sent to live with their grandmother since the attacks. 
 
Meanwhile, the manager of the Café des Anges, a block away from the Belle Equipe, has launched an online fundraising campaign to help the two children with “any legal and administrative fees as well as the children's well-being”. 
 

(Flowers outside the Belle Equipe restaurant on Thursday. Photo: The Local)
 
“Today, beyond grief, we face an emergency,” wrote the manager, Virgile, in the online campaign. 
 
“The two orphans are in an unbearable situation: their grandmother has no steady income and has been left to take care of her beloved grandchildren, as wished by the parents.
 
“It is important for the community to come together to raise funds to assist with this emergency and to also ensure that the children are raised together. It was their parents wish, but also our duty, to make sure that they receive French citizenship and the education they deserve.”
 
The older of the two children, Tania, was born in Romania to another father, who is also deceased. Her brother was born in France. Both had been living with their parents in Paris. 
 
Internet users have wasted no time in responding to the campaign, with almost 2,000 donors raising just under €90,000 since it was launched last week. The target has been listed as €100,000.
 
The children have both received special help from the government through the “pupilles de la nation”, a fund that was introduced during World War One to help families who have been hit by war or terrorism. 
 
It's not just in France that online donators have been busy lending a hand in the wake of the attacks. 
 
In the US, the “Friends of Fondation de France” has also launched an online campaign for the survivors and saw an impressive response from those on the other side of the Atlantic. 
 
“In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, hundreds of donations were sent in through the website from Americans who just wanted to do what they could do to show solidarity with the French,” the charity's spokesman Arthur Hickok told The Local. 
 

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.

SHOW COMMENTS