French Find $13M From Heist

(NEWSER) - A lone gunman boldly stepped into a plush Chopard store in Paris and walked out with $8 million in gems yesterday, reports the BBC. The thief, dressed in a suit and fedora, forced the staff to hand over 15 pieces of jewelry, then calmly exited into the aftyernoon sun. Late last year armed robbers stole $102 million in jewels from a shop off the Champs-Elysées. Yesterday's heist was on the exclusive Place Vendôme near the Ritz and the Ministry of Justice. More»

New prez Hollande will cap salaries at state-owned firms

(NEWSER) - With France's new socialist president François Hollande moving in, it looks like sky-high CEO salaries are moving out, reports the Wall Street Journal . Hollande has promised to cap executive pay at the 52 companies owned or partially owned by the state, limiting them to a maximum of 20 times the lowest employee's salary. That could cause the CEO salary at Electricité de France to plunge from $1.98 million last year to an estimated $634,000 this year, and top pay at nuclear energy giant Areva to drop from $845,000 to $418,000. More»

Centers on alleged 2010 incident in Washington, DC

(NEWSER) - More hot water for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and once again it's US-flavored: A French prosecutor today opened a preliminary investigation into an alleged gang rape in Washington, DC, CNN reports. In the course of France's probe into Strauss-Kahn's alleged participation in a prostitution ring, the gang-rape allegations surfaced; a Belgian prostitute reportedly told police that DSK and three friends made her perform non-consensual sex acts in a DC hotel in December 2010. More»

Crazy Horse dancers win 15% pay hike

(NEWSER) - The dancers are back and the tops are off again at Paris' famous Crazy Horse cabaret after a successful strike. The club—a favorite with generations of Parisians and tourists—was forced to cancel shows this week for the first time in its 61-year history after its 18 stripping performers demanded a pay hike, Reuters reports. More»

Men like 'deep cleavage,' not deep women, complains protest letter

(NEWSER) - The Cannes Film Festival is battling charges of sexism after officials failed to chose a single female-directed movie among its 22 competition films. In a scathing open letter printed in the French media , a group of prominent female directors accuse organizers of failing to recognize the achievement of women in the film industry. Last year, four women directors were featured. "The directors of the 22 films in competition this year are all, by happy coincidence, men," the letter states sarcastically. "For the 63rd time in its existence, the festival will crown one of its own, defending without fail virile values." The festival "shows one more time that men like depth in women, but only in their cleavage," the statement adds. More»