Marseille

17 Stories

In This City, an App Keeps Beach Harassers at Bay

Safer Plage app sends mediators to contend with obnoxious beachgoers in Marseille, France

(Newser) - Women in one French resort community are sick of being harassed while getting some rays on the beach—and now, there's an app to help them fend off such harassment. Time Out reports that the Safer Plage (Safer Beach) app has been downloaded more than 1,300 times since...

Cruise Ships' Long Trips End: 'There Was Nowhere to Go'

3 vessels still with passengers scheduled to finally dock on Monday amid coronavirus crisis

(Newser) - Believe it or not, there are still three cruise ships filled with passengers on the high seas—but all three are set to finally dock at various ports around the world on Monday, their around-the-globe itineraries thrown into disarray by the coronavirus pandemic. The BBC calls the MSC Magnifica, which...

Did Book Reveal Mastermind of Audacious 1976 Heist?

Jacques Cassandri, 74, is on trial

(Newser) - Prosecutors in France say he was the mastermind behind the "heist of the century"—though "mastermind" might not be the best word for somebody who writes a book implicating himself in an unsolved crime. Jacques Cassandri, a 74-year-old organized crime figure in Marseille, is on trial for...

Terror in Marseille: Man With Knife Kills 2 at Train Station

Assailant shot and killed by paramilitary police during Sunday attack

(Newser) - A man with a knife attacked people at the main train station in the southeastern French city of Marseille on Sunday, killing two women before paramilitary soldiers fatally shot the assailant, officials said. French police warned people to avoid the Saint Charles train station, tweeting that an operation was underway....

4 Americans Hurt in France Acid Attack Attend Boston College

College says they're fine, 'considering the circumstances'

(Newser) - The four young American women sprayed in the face with acid in a train station in France Sunday morning are Boston College students studying overseas. The women, all juniors, have been identified as Courtney Siverling, Charlotte Kaufman, and Michelle Krug, who are studying in the school's Paris program, and...

Van Rams 2 Bus Stops in France
Van Rams 2 Bus Stops
in France

Van Rams 2 Bus Stops in France

1 dead, 1 seriously injured in Marseilles

(Newser) - It looks like yet another vehicle attack: Police in Marseilles, France, say a driver drove into two bus shelters Monday, leaving at least one person dead and one seriously injured. The driver has been arrested, reports the BBC . Authorities haven't speculated about a motive, but local media reports suggest...

Big Fail: City's 'Nazi-Style' Homeless Cards

Human rights groups compare Marseille cards to patches from Holocaust

(Newser) - A plan to help health workers identify and assist homeless people has quickly fizzled out in the French city of Marseille for one main reason: The cards that were handed out recalled the Star of David the Nazis forced Jews to wear. The city's initiative saw homeless people outfitted...

France Busts Suspect in Jewish Museum Shooting

Man detained in Marseille customs inspection

(Newser) - A man has been arrested in southeast France in the investigation of a shooting at a Jewish museum in Brussels that left at least three people dead, the Paris prosecutor's office said today. The suspect has been handed to anti-terrorist investigators and could be held at least through Tuesday...

Serial-Rapist DNA Test Leads Cops to Twins

So Marseille police are ordering unusual genetic test

(Newser) - Police in the French city of Marseille relied on DNA evidence to arrest a serial rapist accused of attacking six women, the Telegraph reports. Only problem: His DNA nearly matches his twin brother's, so police hauled them both in. And the victims, unable to tell them apart, positively identified...

French Protesters Block Airport
 French Protesters Block Airport 

French Protesters Block Airport

Lady Gaga cancels pair of concerts in furor over retirement age

(Newser) - Hundreds of workers barricaded Marseille’s main airport for three hours this morning, furious over today's Senate vote on raising France’s retirement age to 62. Meanwhile, protesters used vehicles to block highways and students blockaded a Paris high school. A quarter of French gas stations are dry amid the...

Thieves Snag 2nd Picasso in France
 Thieves Snag 
 2nd Picasso in France 
POPULAR ARTISTS

Thieves Snag 2nd Picasso in France

Lithograph lifted from private collector in Marseilles

(Newser) - Thugs stole a Picasso lithograph and four paintings from a collector's home yesterday in Marseille, on the heels of the $123 million art heist from Paris' Museum of Modern Art. Judicial police said today that two men managed to get past two security gates yesterday at the home of the...

Second Person Dead in Madonna Stage Collapse

Madonna 'devastated' by news

(Newser) - The collapse of a stage where Madonna was to perform this weekend has claimed a second victim. A 32-year-old British citizen has died, CNN reports. The first casualty was a 53-year-old Frenchman who died yesterday; three more are in the hospital in Marseille, and seven were treated and released, says...

1 Dead After Stage for Madonna Show Collapses

Marseille show canceled after construction calamity

(Newser) - One person was killed and six injured today when a stage being built for a French stop of Madonna’s tour collapsed, the BBC reports. Construction workers were assembling the stage at a Marseille stadium when it “started shaking and collapsing,” allowing most of the workers to get...

French Cops Save Tourist Girl Snatched by Internet Stalker

(Newser) - French police rescued a vacationing Scottish girl who was snatched by an Internet stalker, reports the Daily Mail. The girl, 12, was whisked to the Marseille airport from a villa where she was vacationing with her parents by a 41-year-old Belgian man she had encountered earlier on the Internet. She...

French Muslims Find Freedom in Catholic Schools

Students get better education, and allowed to wear headscarf

(Newser) - France has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, but its strict separation of church and state means that Muslim girls are forbidden from wearing the headscarves in public schools. In response, many Muslims have turned to an unlikely solution: the nation's large network of Catholic schools. "There is respect for...

Sarkozy's Party Suffers Defeat at Local Polls

Voters steamed over economy, president's marital drama

(Newser) - French voters dealt Nicolas Sarkozy another blow today in the second round of local balloting. The maverick president's right-wing UMP party lost mayorships in Strasbourg and Reims to opposition socialists, who also gained Toulouse and held on to power bases in Paris and Lyon, the BBC reports. UMP retained control...

Top Spots for Solo Adventurers
Top Spots for Solo Adventurers

Top Spots for Solo Adventurers

Go it alone for fun

(Newser) - Looking to mend a well-trodden heart with a solo adventure? From serene fishing villages to culture-packed cities, several destinations can be just the ticket. For those who prefer to go it alone, IgoUgo readers recommend:
  1. Vienna
  2. Rio de Janeiro
  3. Florence
  4. Parque Nacional Volcan Baru, Panama
  5. Marseille, France

17 Stories