Author: France 24

Telegram boss Pavel Durov’s police custody in France has been extended until August 28 on 12 charges of organised crime. A French court is accusing the Russian-born billionaire of failing to act against the criminal use of his messaging app by his subscribers, in particular through a lack of moderation and cooperation with investigators. According to French President Emmanuel Macron, Durov’s arrest “is in no way a political decision”. But some observers are sceptical, as FRANCE 24’s Julia Sieger explains.

Israel’s military said Tuesday that it had rescued a hostage taken during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7. The hostage, who was recovered “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip”, was identified as 52-year-old Kaid Farhan Alkadi, an Arab citizen of Israel.

On today’s music show on Arts24, Jennifer Ben Brahim takes us backstage at one of France’s biggest music festivals: Rock en Seine. The 20th edition had an impressive lineup including Lana Del Rey, Massive Attack and Kasabian. The Olympics were also front and centre at Rock en Seine this year, with the festival showcasing the shared values between music and sports.

The Paralympics kick off this Wednesday in Paris and to mark the opening of the Games, our reporters went to meet the French athletes who have brought home gold medals from previous editions of the event. They tell us about the challenges they faced, the obstacles they overcame and their hopes for the 2024 paralympics taking place in Paris. David Gilberg and Aurore Dupuis report.

As suspense continues over who will become France’s next prime minister….  the country’s largest employer federation, Medef, kicked off its annual “back to school” conference on the theme of ”power”.  The US presidential election, regional conflicts and trade tensions are also high on business leaders’ minds.  Frane 24’s Yuka Royer speaks to Boris Lombard, President of KSB, about challenges facing the industrial sector. 

Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Monday that he would build a synagogue at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy site in Islam also held sacred by Jews as the Temple Mount. Ben Gvir, who has repeatedly ignored the government’s long-standing ban on Jews praying at the site, filmed a video statement during a recent visit to the compound in which he reiterated his opposition to any ceasefire in the Gaza war.

Four days before the start of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, the Paralympic flame was lit on Saturday near a hospital in the English village of Stoke Mandeville, where the idea for the competion was conceived. A group of  British athletes will embark on the underwater journey through the Channel Tunnel on Sunday, taking it halfway, before handing it over to 24 French torchbearers, who will carry it to the French coastal city of Calais.

Israel and Hezbollah conducted a heavy exchange of fire early Sunday, with both sides claiming their operations had been successful. Reporting from Jerusalem, FRANCE 24’s Irris Makler says some analysts now believe “this phase may be over. But,” she notes, “there’s no guarantees of that. We haven’t yet heard from Iran what it plans to do. So there’s a huge alert here.”

The United States claimed Friday that the latest round of Gaza truce talks in Cairo had been “productive”, despite a major sticking point over Israel’s insistence to keep troops in the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.

Alain Delon, the legendary French actor who made hearts throb around the world, was once described as the most beautiful man in the movies. But his love life was tumultuous and often tormented.