Kim Willsher

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Kim Willsher

A 27-year-old British man has died after being swept away by an avalanche at the French ski resort of Val Thorens after unusually heavy storms across the Alps. The victim, who has not been named, was reportedly at the side of a road at the lower side of the town when he was struck by a wall of snow that carried him 15 metres (50 feet) down the mountain on Thursday morning. He was taken to hospital in Grenoble with cardiorespiratory failure but died in the evening.

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Kim Willsher

In Paris’s central Place de la République, the magnificent lions at the feet of the statue of Marianne are once again covered in graffiti. Along the nearby Boulevard Saint-Martin – part of the Grands Boulevards that bisect the north of the city – the trunk of every plane tree has been crudely sprayed with a name. The front of majestic stone apartment buildings, some dating back more than 200 years, are similarly “tagged” with stylised initials or names.

4 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Kim Willsher

Emmanuel Macron has warned that those behind a wave of apparently coordinated attacks on French prisons and staff will be “found, tried and punished”. The president’s comments came after at least a dozen assaults on French jails in the past three days. In one attack, gunmen using automatic weapons fired at the entrance to Toulon prison in the south of France. In other incidents, cars have been set alight and there have been vandalism and arson attempts on prison wardens’ accommodation.

4 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Kim Willsher

France has expelled 12 Algerian consular and diplomatic officials and recalled its ambassador in Algiers, the French presidency said on Tuesday, in a retaliatory measure as a spat escalates between the two countries. “The Algerian authorities are responsible for the sudden degradation of our bilateral relations,” President Emmanuel Macron’s office said.

4 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Kim Willsher

France’s national terrorism office has launched an investigation into a wave of apparently coordinated attacks at multiple prisons across the country believed to be linked to a government clampdown on drug traffickers. Gunmen with automatic weapons opened fire on the entrance to Toulon prison in southern France in the early hours of Tuesday, while in recent days cars have been set alight outside four other jails, and in Marseille a residential building housing prison guards was attacked.