Food wrappers, surgical masks, earbuds and even windshield wipers. It is atop a genuine collection of debris that the coots in central Amsterdam lay their eggs. « Anything that falls into the water [of the canals] is likely to be used for the nests, » explained Auke-Florian Hiemstra, a biologist at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands. « In this highly urbanized area where nature is almost absent, the only material the coots have at their disposal is waste. »

Curious to know the contents of these « modern » nests – symptomatic of the « age of plastic » – the researcher and his colleagues dissected about 15 of them right after the 2021 breeding season. Inside, they found several hundred pieces of artificial debris, many of which were food wrappers, and a few twigs here and there – « but you really had to look for them, » noted Hiemstra.

It was upon discovering a Mars candy wrapper nestled at the bottom of a nest that the biologists realized their work had taken on a whole new dimension, becoming a veritable archaeological dig through the remnants of several decades of waste. On the plastic wrapper of the chocolate bar were several elements proving it was about 30 years old: a 1991 copyright, a 1993 logo of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and an advertisement for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, of which Mars was one of the official sponsors.

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Issued on: 09/04/2025 – 15:57

3 min

The inquiry, led by Greens MP Sandrine Rousseau, was spurred by allegations from actress Judith Godrèche who accused two French directors of abusing her when she was a teenager in the late 1980s.

In a final damning report, the inquiry accused the entertainment sector of being a « talent grinding machine » and made 86 recommendations to better protect actors and children on set.

These include banning the « sexualisation » of minors on screen and better regulation of auditions and the work of child actors.

« Moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent, » read a conclusion from Rousseau, who has overseen six months of hearings that saw testimony from 350 people in the film, theatre and TV sectors.

Cultural exception?

The report questions the prevalent view in France that abusive behaviour by top cultural figures can be excused in the name of art.

« The ‘cultural exception’, but at what price? » it asks.

« In our country, there’s a cult of talent and creative genius, » Erwan Balanant, a centrist MP on the commission, told the French news agency AFP.

Some of the strongest testimony came from Godrèche herself. The 53-year-old railed against the « impunity » in the film industry and the « inaction » of its leading lights.

In 2024, she accused directors Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually assaulting her while she was a teenager. Both deny the allegations.

« There’s not a single person from my past with an established role in the cinema world – and therefore, in positions of power … who has written to me since I spoke out, » she said.

Later, she released a short film called Moi Aussi (Me Too) which compiled the testimonies of abuse victims of all ages and backgrounds, some of them male, who find strength and solace in speaking out about their personal trauma.

Collective effort needed

« I was waiting for this report, it is impressive and quite terrifying, » Godreche told Franceinfo radio on Wednesday after the report was published.

« It is important now that the political world takes hold of it and that no one can say: we didn’t know. »

The problem isn’t just related to cinema, she points out. « Cinema is a big incestuous family. The power relations and abuses are the same as in the church or schools, and so on. This law is extremely important because it had to fit into this framework. »

Godrèche says she wants to see employers obliged by law to report acts of sexist and sexual violence and harassment and that this will support those too afraid to speak out.

Stars of French cinema testify at parliamentary inquiry into sexual harassment

« There must be information, communication, » she insists. « The actors, the people who have the most power on a set, must take hold of the distress of those who have the least, everyone must reach out to each other, because the revolution in a place where silence reigns can only be collective. »

During the hearings, Rousseau and Balanant said they were struck by a disconcerting number of examples of sexist behavior, « to the point that it would be impossible » to cite them all. These ranged from casual remarks about appearance, touching without consent or inappropriate gestures.

Many of those who testified said they were taken advantage of when they were vulnerable financially, forced to keep silent about abuse if they wanted to keep getting contracts.

No more turning a blind eye

Some of France’s biggest stars testified during the parliamentary inquiry including Juliette Binoche, Jean Dujardin and Pierre Niney, but usually behind closed doors and sometimes on condition that their remarks were not made public.

Gilles Lellouche, a widely admired French star who voices Obélix in the Astérix films, recounted an experience involving a woman director who he claims tried to seduce him.

French bill seeks to close consent loopholes in sexual assault law

« I didn’t feel violently attacked – it was things like hands under my shirt. If I had done the same to a woman, it wouldn’t have been okay, » he said.

In conclusion the report authors warn: « Turning a blind eye is tantamount to complicity. »

Based on the work of the commission of inquiry, a bill will be drafted in the coming months, before being submitted to a vote by the deputies.

(with newswires)

At the end of 2024, French rights organisation – Défenseur des droits – issued a 40-page report, detailing the many problems that foreigners in France face when using the ANEF website, which is necessary for most residency card applications, validating the VLS-TS visa, changing your address, dealing with lost cards, and applying for French naturalisation.

They recounted a number of issues, particularly with persistent bugs in the website – like the inability to request a new password or a previous application never being properly closed, meaning they were unable to start a new one.

READ MORE: Foreigners in France face ‘national crisis’ due to glitches on admin site ANEF

The Local reached out to readers to hear about their experiences, and we’ve put together this list of tips for dealing with the most common problems;

1. Don’t use plug-ins

If you are using a translation plug-in – a tool that automatically translates your page from French to English – then you might find that the website is even more glitchy than usual. On top of that, translations are not always accurate and could be misleading.

Screenshot of the ANEF website.

« Don’t use the English translation, French is more reliable, » advised one reader, Liz Wright in Vienne. This is especially important for ensuring that you upload the correct document being requested. 

Other plug-ins, like Ad Blockers, might also cause some issues. Before you do anything, try turning off those plug-ins to see if the issue resolves itself.

This can be a problem with a lot of French government websites, so if you are having problems with an online service, the first thing to try is turning off all automatic translators and/or ad-blockers. You can instead copy and paste text that you need translating into a translator on another page, such as Google translate or DeepL.

2. Keep trying to contact support

If you’re experiencing technical problems, the site does have a help service, and readers report that it is actually quite helpful.

« Report any problems via the online help service, the ANEF team are responsive and can advise on known bugs and expected fixes, » Wright also recommended.

Other readers echoed this advice. Randy Kerber, who lives outside of Paris, said: « My only tip would be to send messages over and over until you receive an adequate response, or the problem gets fixed. »

You can do this by clicking on « Nous Contacter » in the upper right corner. Then you can choose the reason you are contacting them (from the dropdown menu) and write your message. Be sure to attach screenshots with the URL, date and time visible, as well as the error message (if you have one).

That said, there have been reports of some glitches with this function too. One reader, LaRue in Provence, said « when I clicked the field for the subject, it didn’t change. I clicked anyway and it went through and the email copy of the request I got said the right issue. »

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If you have trouble reaching out to support, another reader, James Sinclair in St-Estephe said « Try dgef-support@interior.gouv.fr. They reply quickly. »

You can also try reaching out to France’s Citizen Contact Centre (CCC) by calling 0 806 001 620. 

3. Upload the correct documents

This sounds like obvious advice, but it goes beyond just saving yourself time scanning unnecessary paperwork – mistakes can severely delay your application.

« Make sure you have all your documents ready in the correct format for sending and don’t send anything not requested. Expect to be asked for duplicate documents when your card is processed, » Liz Wright advised.

We suggest clearly labelling files when you save them, so they are called something like acte_de_naissance.jpg rather than the default file name of 1257644.jpg, to make it easier to upload the correct thing.

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Also pay careful attention to which documents need to be accompanied by a certified translation. 

Linda D in Hauts-de-Seine told The Local: « When I filled in the application for a new residents permit, they asked that I send my US birth certificate but they omitted the need for an official French certified translation of it. My application was refused and I had to start over. »

The Meurthe-et-Moselle préfecture estimates on their website that on average it takes them two months to process a residency card request. However, if the file is « missing some information, requiring back-and-forth with the administration », then the wait period is about six months, while in a best case scenario, a residency card could be processed in 25 days.

READ MORE: Revealed: The waiting times at French préfectures

4. Be careful about file sizes and formatting

Paul Keating, in Soustons, told The Local: « The site sets a limit on the size of the files you upload, which is fair enough. But there is also an unspecified limit on the total size of all the files you upload. Break that limit, and the upload hangs for up to an hour and then reports failure with no reason given.

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« By uploading the files in different orders, I eventually twigged that cumulative size was the problem. There is no way to split the upload, because if your application does not conform to requirements it will just be rejected. For a 5-year card (after 5 years of residence) you have to upload 5 years’ worth of documents in one go and if they are scanned then the volume is considerable. »

Paul explained that he was able to find a solution to this issue. His advice is: « Where possible upload original PDFs, not scans of printed pages.

« For bank statements, strip out inessential pages such as covering letters and boilerplate text. But don’t print and rescan to achieve this; that will only make matters worse. Scan images in greyscale, not in colour. In need, find a friend who is IT-savvy (or has teenage kids who are), who can slim the files down for you. »

If you need to shrink the size of files there are plenty of free online tools that will do this – be aware that mobile phone photos are especially big, so if you have taken a photo of a document on your phone you will almost certainly need to compress the file size before you can upload the picture.

5. Don’t overlook the simple ‘log out, log back in’

Several readers mentioned that simplicity is sometimes best.

LaRue explained that « Some of the documents wouldn’t attach properly. I solved that by reloading the page and then it would eventually take it (…) Reloading seemed to help some of the issues, but not all. »

Edwina in Nice told The Local « For glitches try logging out and back in. Also know the site isn’t always up to date. I kept checking the status of my renewal request and the site showed they hadn’t even started processing it yet.

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« I was freaking out as my old one was expiring and then one day I got a message saying it had been approved. So hang in there! »

6. Check the FAQ page

The ANEF website has a tab titled ‘Besoin d’aide?’ in the upper right hand corner. This is the FAQ page, and it might have an answer to your query, so it’s a good place to start.

All of the information is in French, but there are helpful videos and photos showing how to complete certain procedures. There are over 25 responses to commonly asked questions.

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7. Get in-person help

There should be at least one Point d’accueil numérique (PAN, or the online procedure help desk) in your département, if not multiple. These locations are staffed with people whose job it is to help with online admin tasks.

That said, Defenseurs des droits highlighted in their report that sometimes staff are not specifically trained in assisting with residency permits, and they cannot offer legal advice.

But if you are having recurrent IT issues, then this is a good place to get a second opinion and get help with where to direct your complaints. Use this list to find your nearest PAN.

In some cases, there may also be a specialised in-person location for foreign nationals to get help with the ANEF website. In Paris, for example, there are three PANs, and one of them is « dedicated to online procedures on the ANEF website ».

It is located at 1 bis, rue de Lutèce (Paris 4ème), Room 3. Be sure to make an appointment before showing up – you can do so on the préfecture website. 

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If you are struggling to find out if this exists in your préfecture, try searching « Point d’accueil numérique e-MERAUDE » and your préfecture. This is the abbreviation for services meant to help foreign nationals. 

8. Understand the difference between ANEF and préfecture websites

If applying for or renewing a carte de séjour, once your request has been processed then the next step is normally to wait for the préfecture to send you a text message informing you that your new card is ready for pick-up.

If you are experiencing long delays in waiting for your new card to be prepared, then your recépissé or attestation de décision favourable act as proof of your existing rights. According to the ANEF FAQ page, it maintains all of the rights you had under the previous permit, allows you to travel within and re-enter the Schengen zone, and (assuming your previous permit allowed you to work) permits you to continue working.

Keep in mind that the attestation de décision favorable is only valid alongside your previous residency card or visa (even if it has expired). This document is very important, so when you download it be sure it is in a safe, accessible file. 

That said, waiting for your card to be prepared can take a long time, but complaining on the ANEF help form probably won’t do much because this is the moment when you switch from the ANEF website to the préfecture website.

You will make your appointment to pick up your new card – or complain about the long delay – via your préfecture’s website. Here are our Top tips for dealing with delays or problems at your French préfecture.

9.  Get professional help if all else fails

If you are at the end of your rope and you have tried everything, then get in touch with Défenseur des droits for free legal assistance. You can find their contact form on their website. 

Info droits étrangers is another association that offers free legal help to foreigners. You can call them or send a message online.

You can also get in contact with a lawyer, who may help reach out to the préfecture on your behalf, or send a Lettre recommandée. 

Generally, it is not necessary to get professional legal help when compiling and submitting your application, unless you have a complicated situation. However, if you are experiencing severe delays or repeated tech issues that have not been resolved, it may be time to reach out. 

READ MORE: How can I find English-speaking lawyers and accountants in France?

Thank you to everyone who shared their tips, feel free to add your own tips and tricks in the comments section below

American Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Thursday, April 18, he had met with a Salvadoran man wrongfully deported to his home country by the Trump administration, in a case that has sparked outrage in the United States. Van Hollen had earlier said he had been denied access to the prison where Washington has paid President Nayib Bukele millions to lock up nearly 300 migrants it says are criminals and gang members – including 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia. « I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance, » Van Hollen later posted on X with a photo of him sitting at what appeared to be a restaurant table with Abrego Garcia.

The dour-faced deportee is shown wearing a short-sleeved check shirt and a baseball cap. Van Hollen added that he would offer « a full update upon my return » to the US. Abrego Garcia was detained in Maryland last month and expelled to El Salvador along with 238 Venezuelans and 22 fellow Salvadorans who were deported shortly after President Donald Trump invoked a rarely-used wartime authority.

Read more Subscribers only Central American countries caught up in US migration policy

Trump administration officials have claimed he is an illegal migrant, a gang member and involved in human trafficking, without providing evidence. Abrego Garcia had enjoyed a protected status in the US, precluding his deportation to El Salvador for his own safety. A federal judge has since ordered that he be returned, later backed up by the Supreme Court. But the administration – despite admitting an « administrative error » in his deportation – contends he is now solely in Salvadoran custody.

‘Staying in El Salvador’

Bukele, who met Trump in Washington on Monday, said he does not have the power to send the man back. The Salvadoran leader posted to X late Thursday that Abrego Garcia was « sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador. » The deportee in fact appeared to have a cup of coffee and glass of water on the table in front of him. « Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody, » Bukele added in another post.

Van Hollen, on the second day of his trip to El Salvador, had earlier tried to make his way to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) outside the capital San Salvador to see Abrego Garcia. The car he was traveling in was stopped by soldiers, he said, about three kilometers from the complex holding thousands of Salvadoran gangsters, and now also hundreds of migrants expelled from the United States. « We were told by the soldiers that they had been ordered not to allow us to proceed, » the senator later told reporters.

Le Monde with AFP

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Résumé du premier volet de l’enquête : le 21 novembre dernier, des combattants soudanais filment des obus de mortier destinés selon eux aux Forces de soutien rapide (FSR), la milice qui affronte l’armée régulière dans la guerre civile en cours. Ces armes, fabriquées en Bulgarie, ont été transférées au Soudan malgré un embargo de l’Union européenne sur ce pays ravagé par les conflits.

À lire aussiArmes européennes au Soudan (1/5) : des obus bulgares au milieu du désert

Comment de l’armement européen a-t-il pu se retrouver au Soudan, malgré l’embargo imposé par l’UE à destination de ce pays ? Après être remontée jusqu’à l’entreprise bulgare Dunarit ayant fabriqué les obus de mortiers, la rédaction des Observateurs a cherché à retracer le parcours de ces armes. Elle a interrogé la Commission interministérielle pour le contrôle des exportations, l’autorité bulgare chargée d’autoriser les exportations d’armes.

Dans un premier temps, celle-ci n’a pas souhaité donner plus d’informations sur le pays d’exportation initial de l’armement filmé par les combattants soudanais, affirmant simplement ne pas avoir « délivré de permis d’exportation vers le Soudan ». « L’autorisation d’exportation a été délivrée pour le gouvernement d’un pays contre lequel il n’y a pas de sanctions imposées par le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU. L’autorité compétente bulgare a été informée de la livraison des produits et les originaux des certificats de livraison par l’utilisateur final des produits ont été fournis », a-t-elle précisé.

Mais une source ayant choisi de garder l’anonymat a fait parvenir à la rédaction des Observateurs la copie de l’un des certificats de livraison en question. Ce document, émis le 16 août 2020 par le « quartier général des forces armées des Émirats arabes unis », est très riche en informations sur la transaction. On apprend ainsi que l’utilisateur final des obus de mortier bulgares serait l’armée des Émirats arabes unis (EAU) elle-même.

Ce document détaille une livraison conséquente : 15 000 obus de mortier de 81 mm (comme ceux visibles dans les vidéos du 21 novembre 2024 filmées au Soudan), mais aussi 2 780 obus de 60 mm, 30 000 de 82 mm et 11 464 de 120 mm, un calibre beaucoup plus puissant. Les armes ont été livrées à l’armée émiratie en deux fois, en janvier et février 2020. Enfin, deux entreprises sont mentionnées, en plus de l’état-major de l’armée émiratie : une compagnie « fournisseuse » bulgare, ARM-BG LTD., et un « importateur » émirati, International Golden Group PJSC. Le fabricant, Dunarit, n’est pas mentionné.

La rédaction des Observateurs a pu recouper ces informations à l’aide d’un second document, émanant d’une autre source ayant accès aux informations fournies par l’armée émiratie dans le cadre de l’achat des armes. C’est un certificat d’utilisateur final, censé garantir au fabricant et à l’autorité de régulation du pays d’origine que le bénéficiaire final des armes est correctement identifié. Celui qui produit le certificat y prend un certain nombre d’engagements, notamment en ce qui concerne la réexportation des armes.

Également émis par l’armée émiratie, qui s’y désigne comme utilisatrice finale, ce second document comporte le même numéro de contrat que le premier et mentionne les mêmes entreprises fournisseuse et importatrice. Avec ces données, « il est raisonnable de penser que ces deux documents se réfèrent à la même transaction », estime Nicholas Marsh, chercheur spécialiste des exportations d’armes à l’Institut de recherche sur la paix d’Oslo.

 

« L’utilisateur final des armes n’a pas prévenu d’une quelconque réexportation, je ne sais pas ce qu’il s’est passé après »

Dans ce second document daté d’octobre 2019, l’armée émiratie s’engage à « utiliser [les armes] pour les besoins propres des forces armées des EAU » et à ce qu’elles ne soient « jamais transférées, réexportées, prêtées, louées ou données à une tierce partie ou à un pays sans l’accord écrit des corps autorisés de Bulgarie« . Contactée pour savoir si elle avait fourni son accord pour réexporter ces armes au Soudan ou ailleurs, la Commission interministérielle bulgare maintient seulement « ne pas avoir délivré de permis d’exportation vers l’État du Soudan ». Au téléphone, Petar Petrov, le PDG de Dunarit, donne plus de détails :

Sur les documents, on voit le pays de destination, mais aussi l’entreprise [International Golden Group, NDLR]. C’est une entreprise publique. Nous n’avons pas de restrictions sur les exportations vers les Émirats arabes unis, c’est cela que la Commission a examiné. Selon les règles fixées, quand l’utilisateur final décide de réexporter, il doit prévenir toutes les parties de la transaction, le fabricant, les commissions, tout le monde. Dans ce cas, ils ne l’ont pas fait, je ne sais pas ce qu’il s’est passé après.

Le second document mentionne par ailleurs une quantité d’obus très supérieure, 105 000 contre un peu moins de 60 000 pour le premier certificat. Rien d’anormal selon Nicholas Marsh : « Cela permet de prévoir d’autres livraisons sans avoir à demander une nouvelle licence. C’est difficile de savoir si la différence entre le chiffre présent sur le certificat d’utilisateur final et sur le certificat de vérification de livraison [ici, un peu plus de 45 000 obus de mortier, NDLR] a bien été livrée. »

 

Un contrat estimé à 50 millions d’euros

Nicholas Marsh estime le prix total des 105 000 obus de mortier mentionnés dans le certificat d’utilisateur final à 50 millions d’euros.

Ce genre de livraison est cohérent avec ce que demande le fonctionnement d’un gros groupe armé non étatique. C’est même franchement une très grosse quantité de munitions pour un groupe de ce type. En revanche, pour un État impliqué dans un conflit ouvert, c’est un peu faible.

La rédaction des Observateurs a pu recouper l’estimation de Nicholas Marsh auprès de l’Omega Research Foundation, un réseau de chercheurs spécialistes des violations des droits humains commises grâce à du matériel de défense ou de sécurité.

Ce montant approximatif de 50 millions d’euros que représente cette exportation d’armes est loin d’être négligeable pour la Bulgarie. Selon les données collectées par le Réseau européen contre le commerce des armes, la valeur des exportations bulgares vers les Émirats arabes unis entre 2015 et 2020 – les données plus récentes semblent sous-estimées – se situent entre 10 et 30 millions d’euros chaque année.

En 2019, année de la transaction mentionnée par les deux documents consultés par la rédaction des Observateurs, ces exportations bondissent soudainement à 83 millions d’euros. La vente des 105 000 obus de mortier bulgares pourrait donc représenter plus de la moitié de la valeur des exportations vers les Émirats au cours de cette année exceptionnelle.

 

ARM-BG, l’intermédiaire bulgare

Auprès de notre rédaction, la Commission interministérielle pour le contrôle des exportations bulgare insiste à plusieurs reprises sur le fait que le pays « respecte scrupuleusement tous les engagements dans le domaine du contrôle des exportations […] et mène une politique nationale responsable ».

Pourtant, les profils des intermédiaires impliqués dans cette vente interpellent. Très peu d’informations sont disponibles sur ARM-BG, l’exportateur bulgare – cette société dispose cependant bien d’une licence officielle pour importer et exporter de l’armement. Selon les informations disponibles sur le site spécialisé Orbis, l’entreprise, qui ne compterait que quatre salariés, semble avoir fait le plus clair de ses bénéfices sur les deux années sur lesquelles s’étend le contrat de vente des armes de Dunarit. Son chiffre d’affaires s’élève ainsi à plus de 78 millions de dollars américains en 2019, puis 106 millions en 2020, avant de s’effondrer brutalement à six millions en 2021, année où ARM-BG entre en sévère déficit. Ses résultats indiquent ainsi près de 3,5 millions de dollars de perte.

Arsen Nazarian, l’un des gérants d’ARM-BG, insiste sur la légalité de la transaction à laquelle son entreprise a participé :

La demande de licence d’exportation pour l’utilisateur final des Émirats arabes unis a été soumise par ARM-BG à la Commission interministérielle pour le contrôle des exportations […] et contenait toutes les données et documents requis par les législations bulgare et européenne, ainsi que par les règles fixées par les Nations unies.

Au téléphone, il ajoute : « Nous sommes une société de courtage. Nous n’exportons ni n’importons pas par nous-mêmes, nous ne nous occupons pas non plus des marchandises. » Pourtant, la société ARM-BG est bien mentionnée comme « exportatrice » ou « fournisseuse » dans les documents émiratis fournis aux autorités bulgares.

Recontactée, ARM-BG a refusé de communiquer plus d’informations. La Commission interministérielle pour le contrôle des exportations affirme « ne disposer d’aucune preuve de l’implication d’ARM-BG dans des livraisons à des utilisateurs finaux illégitimes ou dans des programmes de réexportation illégaux ».

 

International Golden Group, un acheteur émirati connu pour ses pratiques de détournement d’armes

L’autre entreprise mentionnée sur les documents liés à la vente des armes de Dunarit est International Golden Group (IGG). Elle est mentionnée comme « importatrice » des armes aux Émirats arabes unis. Helen Close, chercheuse spécialiste du secteur de l’armement à l’Omega Research Foundation, a pu collecter des informations sur cette société au cours de ses travaux sur le marché de l’armement aux Émirats arabes unis.

International Golden Group a été créé en 2002. Nous pensons qu’il s’agissait à l’époque d’une entreprise privée ou semi-privée, mais qui avait sans aucun doute des liens avec le gouvernement émirati. En 2017, cette entreprise se définissait comme le premier fournisseur des forces armées et du ministère de l’Intérieur émiratis.

Les ventes d’armes européennes vers les Émirats arabes unis ne sont soumises à aucune sanction ou embargo. Mais International Golden Group n’est pas tout à fait une entreprise d’armement comme les autres : en plus de fournir l’armée émiratie, elle est connue pour ses pratiques de détournement d’armes vers des zones de guerre, comme l’ont rappelé plusieurs spécialistes à la rédaction des Observateurs. Tony Fortin, chargé d’études à l’Observatoire des armements, une structure française spécialisée dans la collecte d’information sur les ventes d’armes et les entreprises du secteur, commente ainsi :

International Golden Group a une très mauvaise réputation, c’est connu, y compris chez les industriels du secteur. C’est une entreprise qui a la réputation de fonctionner comme une sorte d’État dans l’État émirati, en permettant de gérer des flux d’armement de manière opaque.

On trouve les traces de ces activités troubles dans les rapports du panel d’experts de l’ONU sur la Libye, pays visé par un embargo total sur les armes décidé en 2011 par le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU.

Tous les ans, le panel rend un rapport général sur la situation en Libye, dans lequel il tente notamment d’identifier les pays, les entreprises et les individus violant cet embargo. Dès 2013, International Golden Group est identifié comme un acteur clé d’un transfert de centaines de milliers de cartouches albanaises vers Benghazi, dans l’est de la Libye. « C’est International Golden Group qui représentait les forces armées des Émirats arabes unis aux négociations », affirme le rapport.

En 2016, 2022 et 2023, le nom d’International Golden Group est associé à des violations de l’embargo de l’ONU sur les armes à destination de la Libye. Le rapport de 2022 évoque ainsi des obus de mortier serbes de 120 mm. L’un d’entre eux a été utilisé pour piéger une maison civile de Tripoli en novembre 2020. À cette époque, la région de Tripoli, contrôlée par le gouvernement libyen reconnu par l’ONU, faisait l’objet d’une attaque massive des forces de Khalifa Haftar, l’homme fort de l’est de la Libye. Cette offensive était notamment soutenue par les Émirats arabes unis et par les mercenaires du groupe Wagner.

Dans le même rapport, le panel revient plus en détail sur le cas de 2013 : « Bien que l’utilisateur final ait été faussement déclaré comme étant les Émirats arabes unis [sur la documentation fournie par International Golden Group, NDLR], les munitions ont été expédiées par avion directement à Benghazi, en Libye », depuis le territoire albanais. Le vol pour transporter les munitions a été affrété par un intermédiaire impliqué dans la transaction ; alors que le plan de vol indiquait d’abord les Émirats arabes unis comme destination, il a été changé au dernier moment pour la Libye.

Le rapport de 2016, qui évoque quant à lui un cas d’importation en Libye de fusils bulgares, affirme que le panel des experts de l’ONU « a demandé à la Bulgarie de retracer [le parcours de ces fusils] ». « Les autorités bulgares ont informé le panel qu’International Golden Group avait originellement importé ces armes, et que l’utilisateur final était les forces armées des Émirats arabes unis. »

Les autorités bulgares étaient donc informées dès 2016, soit trois ans avant l’envoi par les Émirats arabes unis des premiers documents concernant la vente d’obus de mortier Dunarit, que des armes vendues à International Golden Group prétendument pour le compte de l’armée émiratie pouvaient être détournées.

« Normalement, dans ce genre de cas, dès que la Bulgarie reçoit les informations, elle doit les partager avec les autres gouvernements européens », commente Nicholas Marsh.

À ce moment-là, la Bulgarie ne devrait plus autoriser d’exportations passant par International Golden Group. Elle devrait aussi être particulièrement prudente vis-à-vis des exportations vers les Émirats en général. Malheureusement, ce n’est pas vraiment ce qui se passe dans les faits.

Interrogée pour savoir si elle avait connaissance des nombreux cas de détournement d’armes par International Golden Group documentés par le panel d’experts des Nations unies sur la Libye au moment de l’autorisation de la transaction de 2019, la Commission interministérielle bulgare de contrôle des exportations n’a pas répondu à nos questions.

La rédaction des Observateurs n’a pas d’éléments permettant de retracer la dernière partie du transport des munitions bulgares vers le Soudan, ni de savoir si celles-ci ont bien été exportées par International Golden Group vers les zones de l’est de la Libye contrôlées par le maréchal Haftar. Interrogés sur ce point, ni la Commission interministérielle de contrôle des exportations, ni International Golden Group n’ont répondu à nos questions.

Il est en revanche possible de retracer le parcours des hommes qui accompagnaient les munitions bulgares au Soudan – ceux dont les papiers d’identité colombiens sont visibles dans les vidéos du 21 novembre 2024.

Lisez la suite de cette enquête dans notre prochain article, publié demain.

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Julia Rougié a participé au travail d’enquête sur lequel se base cet article. 

Truce negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are taking place in Riyadh under the aegis of the United States, without Europe. But lasting peace will only be achieved when Moscow is assured that NATO is no longer a threat to the Russian Federation.

Diplomatic talks to end the war in Ukraine continue this Monday, March 24, 2025, in Saudi Arabia, where American and Russian delegations are meeting. The talks come on the heels of exchanges between the United States and Ukraine.

“No missile in front of the door”

Europe is completely offside in these negotiations, because it refuses to see reality from Moscow’s point of view. What does Putin want? He’s been warning the West for a long time, particularly since the Munich Conference in 2007: “We made it clear that any move by NATO to the east was unacceptable,” he says. What’s incomprehensible about that? Do we place missiles near American borders? No! The U.S. has come close to us with its missiles. They are already on our doorstep. Is it an excessive demand to ask that no strike systems be installed near us? Not an inch to the east, we were assured in the 1990s. But so what? Well, they just cheated. They lied. Five waves of NATO expansion. And now, in Romania, in Poland, [strike] systems of this type are appearing. That’s the point. Please understand: we’re not threatening anyone. Have we moved closer to the borders of the United States or the United Kingdom? No. And now they’re saying that Ukraine is part of NATO. And [missile] systems will be installed there. That’s what they’re talking about. And they’re asking me for guarantees? You have to give us guarantees! And now.”

Il est fascinant de voir les dirigeants occidentaux s’offusquer des réactions de Vladimir Poutine alors qu’il avait mis en garde à la Conférence de Munich en 2007, que toute avancée de l’OTAN vers l’Est serait inacceptable.
Or depuis, l’Alliance Atlantique n’a cessé de s’étendre. pic.twitter.com/15Nhrxm9gT

— Barbara78 (@dragonduclos) September 2, 2023

Thirty-two NATO member countries

Vladimir Putin has never wavered in his declarations and demands. And it is clear that NATO has deployed its missiles and bases all over the world, including along Russia’s borders. In fact, since 1949, the number of Alliance member countries has risen from 12 to 32, in ten waves of enlargement. On March 7, 2024, Sweden became the 32nd member. Three Partner countries are currently seeking NATO membership: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia and Ukraine.
In Ukraine, the United States has long been at home. A few months ago, the “New York Times” confirmed the existence of twelve CIA bases, deployed in the immediate aftermath of the Maïdan revolution. And there’s more. The Pentagon has financed secret biological laboratories in Ukraine to produce weapons. This is according to Tulsi Gabbard, the new Director of US Intelligence. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland confirms it.

Vladimir Putin’s concerns are understandable.

American economic and military dominance continues to grow. With 1.4 million active military personnel, 800 declared bases in 177 countries and a budget of $877 billion, the US armed forces cost Americans a fortune. Senator Bernie Sanders did not vote for the 2025 budget.

As for the weapons sold to Ukraine since the start of the war, they are being resold on the black market, says the famous American journalist Tucker Carlson. He adds: “When are Europeans going to understand what this country is all about? Ukraine is a country apart, corruption is in its DNA, it’s a hub for all kinds of trafficking.
Are we to believe him?

ℹ️ Carte représentant l’avancement de l’OTAN depuis 1949 et ses ambitions années après années. pic.twitter.com/dX5k8QAva2

— Liberta Press (@liberta_press) March 7, 2025

&

🇺🇸 🤝 🇷🇺 BREAKING : La Russie et Trump pourraient redessiner la carte géopolitique mondiale.

La Russie prévoit de discuter de nouveaux accords de sécurité avec le président américain Trump pour « faire reculer » l’OTAN.

Poutine met les cartes sur la table : la Russie ne… pic.twitter.com/79XLESkL5b

— Camille Moscow 🇷🇺 🌿 ☦️ (@camille_moscow) January 11, 2025

‼️💣💥👀💊💊😏‼️

Comme celle de l’évolution des frontières orientales de l’OTAN cette carte des bases militaires étasuniennes dans le Monde montre bien qui veut le conquérir

⏩800 bases, dont 119 les seuls territoires de l’Allemagne et du Japon… pic.twitter.com/36eI0vQoyb

— The Keepers (@TheKeeper46) March 13, 2023

🚨👀🇺🇦 Tucker Carlson affirme que l’Ukraine vend des armes de l’OTAN au marché noir. Quand est ce que les européens vont comprendre ce qu’est ce pays? L’Ukraine est un pays à part, la corruption est dans son ADN, c’est la plateforme de tous les trafics pic.twitter.com/3rNmzt5RrI

— ⚜ France for Trump ⚜ (@VirginiePerez15) March 11, 2025

 

Issued on: 17/04/2025 – 09:15

2 min

More than 200 journalists, including prominent members of the French press, staged a symbolic « die-in » in Paris, laying down on the steps of the Bastille Opera as the names of the nearly 200 victims were read out loud.

Many wore red-stained press vests and fake flak jackets and carried photos of journalists killed in Gaza while trying to report on the war launched by Israel following the 7 October attack by Hamas.

« Gaza has faces, not just numbers », read posters showing the photographs of their fallen Palestinian colleagues whose names were read out loud.

Youssef Habash, leader of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in Europe, condemned what he called a « genocide » and demanded an end to the Israeli blockade on the enclave.

« There have never been so many casualties in our profession. The right of citizens worldwide to be informed is compromised, » said Pablo Aiquel, Secretary General of SNJ-CGT, speaking on behalf of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Thibaut Bruttin, Director General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said: « This gathering comes late, perhaps too late… I’ve never seen a conflict where when a journalist dies, they’re called a terrorist. »

Among the crowds, people waved Palestinian flags, some chanting “We will not be silent,” and “Free Palestine”.

In Marseille, about 160 people gathered at the Old Port. Names of journalists killed in Gaza were read before a minute of silence in their honour.

International investigation reveals ‘attack on press freedom’ in Gaza conflict

‘Media blackout’

Since Israel launched the war on Gaza, foreign journalists have been prevented from reporting in the enclave, other than a few visits by international teams embedded with the Israeli army.

In a statement published Monday in Le Monde and on RFI, several media organisations including journalists’ unions SNJ, CGT and CFDT, RSF, IFJ, and about forty journalists’ societies or editorial teams including AFP news agency, denounced « carnage of unprecedented magnitude ».

“The Israeli army is imposing a media blackout on Gaza to silence, as much as possible, the witnesses of the war crimes committed by its troops,” it read. “This intention to obstruct information is also reflected in the Israeli government’s refusal to allow foreign press access to the Gaza Strip.”

The Gaza war began following Hamas‘s unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October, 2023, which resulted in 1,218 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures. Of the 251 people initially abducted, 58 remain held in Gaza, including 34 who are dead, according to the army.

Data collected by Hamas’ health ministry puts the death toll in Gaza since the start of Israel’s military response at 51,025 – data the UN considers reliable.

What’s the latest?

President Emmanuel Macron vowed the attackers would be « found, tried and punished » after days of incidents around French jails, with one sprayed with automatic gunfire.

Anti-terrorism investigators are leading the inquiry into the attacks that Macron said were an attempt to « intimidate our prison staff and attack facilities with unacceptable violence ».

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin accused the drug trafficking underworld of being responsible. « Clearly people are trying to destabilise the state by intimidating it, » he told French media.

Police accompanied some prison staff when they went to penitentiaries on Wednesday.

More than 20 vehicles have now been set ablaze or been the targets of vandalism in the campaign since Sunday.

Early Wednesday, assailants set fire to three vehicles in the car park of a jail in the southern town of Tarascon, its prosecutor said.

The car of another guard from a jail outside the southern city of Aix-en-Provence was torched outside his home, a representative of the prison workers’ union said.

In the Paris region, assailants tried to start a fire in the entrance of a building where a woman prison guard lives, a police source said. The letters « DDPF » — standing for « Rights of French Prisoners » — were sprayed on the building as they have at other jails this week.

So who’s behind the attacks?

Darmanin said there could be a link to his plan to lock up 200 of France’s 700 most dangerous drug traffickers in two top-security prisons. Parliament is also to vote this month on a bill against drug-related crime.

A probe is underway into the attacks since Sunday, but Darmanin has accused people linked to drug trafficking.

« They are doing it because we are taking measures against the permissiveness that existed until now in jails, » he said.

Darmanin and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau have in recent months vowed to intensify the fight against narcotics and drug-related crime.

Darmanin said he was seeking to crack down on « drug networks that continue to operate from prison cells.

« They order killings, launder money. They threaten police officers, judges, prison guards, and they escape, » he said.

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Darmanin is leading what he calls a « prison revolution » that aims to lock up 200 of France’s 700 most dangerous drug traffickers in two top-security prisons from this summer.

« We won’t back down because they threaten the state, » said Darmanin. « Because if the state gives in there’s nothing left to protect the French people. »

French prison guards in fear

Several prison guards, who did not give their names out of fear for their safety, said they were worried.

« It’s the first time in my career that I look back as I leave work and check what is going on in the parking lot, » a 47-year-old woman, who has worked as a prison guard for 22 years, told AFP.

She said she now locks the door as soon as she gets home.

Another, 34, called the events « scary ».

« Tracking down a guard, following them home requires preparation and premeditation, » he said.

A woman guard in Marseille told how the families of inmates film guards and their cars with mobile phones. « They do what they want, with no impunity, » the 45-year-old said.

« Threats and intimidation inside prisons are part of the daily grind, » the secretary-general of the UFAP UNSA Justice union, Wilfried Fonck, told AFP.

« But that this is now happening outside is worrying. »

Dominique Gombert, deputy head of the FO Justice union, spoke of « a desire to spread terror ».

The authors of a book published on Thursday, April 17, said the Vatican knew about sexual abuse allegations against French charity icon Abbé Pierre as early as the 1950s. The Catholic cleric – who founded the d’Emmaüs charity that’s now present in over 40 countries – was widely praised for his work for the poverty-stricken and homeless when he died in 2007 aged 94.

But in recent months, more than 30 people have alleged he committed sexual abuse against them, some when they were children, between 1950 and 2000, shattering his saintly image. Prosecutors in February said no criminal investigation could be opened because the statute of limitations had expired in all cases.

In their book L’Abbé Pierre, la fabrique d’un saint (« Abbé Pierre, the Making of a Saint »), journalists Laetitia Cherel and Marie-France Etchegoin allege the Vatican knew about some of the accusations for decades. « As early as autumn 1955, not only did top French clergy know about the dark side and danger in Abbé Pierre, but so did the Holy See, » they wrote.

Read more Subscribers only Letters from future sexual predator Abbé Pierre reveal a man tormented from an early age

In the book, they report that the Vatican requested the bishop of Versailles launch « a judicial procedure, » but none was begun. The journalists said they gained access to declassified Vatican archives that showed that a priest had written to the Holy See in October 1955 to say Abbé Pierre had done « immoral things » while visiting the United States.

‘Problematic’ behavior

The archives also included the minutes of a 1957 meeting about Abbé Pierre, born Henri Groues in 1912. The 10-page document noted that two US and Canadian cardinals had alerted the Vatican in 1955, and detailed allegations against the French religious figure from 1955 to 1957, the journalists said.

Read more Subscribers only Archives reveal the Church considered isolating Abbé Pierre as early as the 1940s

The Vatican asked its ambassador to France at the time to keep an eye on Abbé Pierre, also suspecting him of having ties to Communism, it showed. Archives of the French church, consulted after the scandal first broke last year, show French religious leaders remained quiet about what they termed Abbé Pierre’s « problematic » behavior.

Pope Francis said in September that the Vatican had known about the accusations against the French charity figure, at least since his death in 2007. The Conference of Bishops of France at the time asked the Vatican to examine its archives to see what was known before then, but there has been no follow-up so far.

The 1939-1958 Vatican archives that the journalists consulted were declassified in 2020 to allow historians to examine the Holy See’s attitude to Nazi Germany, the book’s authors said. It contained a blue file titled « Abbé Pierre, » which one of them said the Vatican possibly did not realize was included.

Read more Subscribers only Archives suggest not only the Church knew about Abbé Pierre’s sexual assaults

Le Monde with AFP

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