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French restauranteur charged over botulism death

A French restaurant boss was on Wednesday charged over one death among multiple cases of botulism earlier this year tied to improperly preserved sardines at the establishment, prosecutors said.

French restauranteur charged over botulism death
A police vehicle in Lorient, western France. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

A 32-year-old Greek woman died in September after eating at the Tchin Tchin Wine Bar in central Bordeaux.

She was one of 16 mostly foreign diners who fell ill in the space of a week while the southwestern city was hosting Rugby World Cup matches.

“Various infringements of the hygiene regulations by the establishment’s manager” were identified, “especially relating to home made preserves,” senior prosecutor Frederique Porterie said in a statement.

The restaurant chief was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged on Wednesday with involuntary homicide and wounding, endangering the lives of others, failing to assist a person in danger and selling contaminated or toxic food.

While released from custody, he will be subject to police monitoring and barred from any work relating to food service ahead of the trial.

If convicted, the man could face two to five years in prison and a fine of up to €600,000.

Botulism is a rare, serious neurological condition that is fatal in between five and 10 percent of cases.

It stems from a powerful toxin, produced by a bacteria that can live in poorly-preserved food that has been improperly sterilised.

The disease can interfere with vision, prevent sufferers from swallowing or in advanced cases paralyse muscles, especially respiratory muscles, which can be fatal.

Around 25 people were exposed to the contaminated sardines served at the wine bar, an investigation by French health authorities and police found.

A further investigation is underway into the affected people’s medical treatment, prosecutors said.

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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