PARIS: City Bans Filming Of Action Films

Via BBC News:

The filming of movie action sequences has been restricted by authorities in Paris following last month's attacks in the French capital. "There's a problem with these action-type scenes, as the actors in uniform could be targets for terrorists," said police commander Sylvie Barnaud. "Also, the actors could pose confusion for the general public - during this highly sensitive period." She said the use of fake weapons and pyrotechnic effects were also banned. Tensions remain high following the attacks in January which left 20 people dead, including three gunmen. Armed police and soldiers continue to guard sensitive sites, including synagogues, media offices and large shopping areas. Paris is a popular destination for film-makers, with its wide boulevards and dramatic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Louvre pyramid. Official statistics provided by city authorities showed there were 930 film shoots in Paris last year, including approximately 20 international productions.

It's not known how long the restrictions will be in place.

Paris Mayor To Sue Fox News

Via Politico:

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is planning to sue Fox News for its inaccurate reports on Muslim "no go zones," she told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday. "When we're insulted, and when we've had an image, then I think we'll have to sue, I think we'll have to go to court, in order to have these words removed," Hidalgo told Amanpour in an interview. "The image of Paris has been prejudiced, and the honor of Paris has been prejudiced." When asked to clarify which network she planned "to take to court and sue," Hidalgo replied: “Fox News, that’s the name.” Hidalgo's remarks come after Fox News ran multiple reports describing areas of Paris (and England) that were governed by Sharia law and off-limits to non-Muslims. The network has since apologized for making "regrettable errors on air regarding the Muslim population in Europe—particularly with regard to England and France."

French hate speech laws include forbidding the incitement of hatred based on religion, ethnicity, and national origin. It's not yet clear on what grounds the Paris mayor's suit might be based.

Today's New York Daily News

This was topic #1 across Teabagistan yesterday.

LIVE VIDEO: Paris Solidarity Rally

UPDATE: The live-stream has concluded.

LIVE VIDEO: French Terrorists Killed

FRANCE: Paris Police Surround Gunmen In Two Separate Hostage Standoffs

Via CNN:

French authorities waged two intense standoffs with gunmen in and around Paris early Friday afternoon -- one involving the two brothers wanted in the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the other a hostage situation at a kosher grocery store near eastern Paris' Porte de Vincennes. It was not immediately known if the two situations were related, but both underscored France's nightmare and anti-terrorism fight.

The hostage situation spurred police anti-terror units and the French internal security directorate, known as the DGSI, to race to the scene in eastern Paris, the city's prosecutor's office said. Hostages were taken after a shooting there or nearby. CNN affiliate France 2 aired live video of police tactical teams getting into position at the scene of the standoff.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officers had also surrounded a building about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast in the town Dammartin-en-Goele. Authorities have expressed a high degree of certainty that they have surrounded the Kouachi brothers -- the suspects in Wednesday's killing of 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo -- in Dammartin-en-Goele, which is northeast of Paris and a few miles from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre Henri Brandet tweeted that it's not confirmed whether or not the brothers are holding anyone hostage.

All US cable news outlets are covering the situation live.

FRANCE: Three Paris Terrorists Identified

Via the New York Times:

Officials said late Wednesday that the suspects had been identified and that two were brothers. They were identified as Said and Cherif Kouachi, 32 and 34, and Hamyd Mourad, 18. French news reports said the brothers had been born in Paris, raising the prospect that homegrown Muslim extremists were responsible. The assault threatened to deepen the distrust of France’s large Muslim population, coming at a time when Islamic radicalism has become a central concern of security officials across Europe. Officials and witnesses said at least two gunmen carried out the attack with automatic weapons and an unusual degree of military-style precision. President François Hollande of France called it a display of extraordinary “barbarism” that was “without a doubt” an act of terrorism. He declared Thursday a national day of mourning.

Via the Jerusalem Post:

Police issued a document to forces across the region saying the three men were being sought for murder in relation to the Charlie Hebdo attack. The document, reviewed by a Reuters correspondent, named them as Said Kouachi, born in 1980, Cherif Kouachi, born in 1982, and Hamyd Mourad, born in 1996. The police source said one of them had been identified by his identity card which had been left in the getaway car. The Kouachi brothers were from the Paris region while Mourad was from the area of the northeastern city of Reims, the government source told Reuters. Anti-terrorism police were preparing an operation in Reims, the police source said, declining to give more details. The police source said one of the brothers had previously been tried on terrorism charges. Cherif Kouachi was charged with criminal association related to a terrorist enterprise in 2005 after he had been arrested before leaving for Iraq to join Islamist militants. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008, according to French media.

Via the Associated Press:

A tweeter from al-Qaida's Yemeni branch, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, who communicated Wednesday with The Associated Press, said the group is not claiming responsibility, but said it might have inspired the attack. In 2013, al-Qaida magazine Inspire specifically threatened Charb and included an article titled "France the Imbecile Invader." Two police officials named the three suspects as Frenchmen Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi, who are brothers and in their early 30s, as well as 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, whose nationality wasn't immediately clear. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive and ongoing investigation. Cherif Kouachi was convicted in 2008 of terrorism charges for helping funnel fighters to Iraq's insurgency, and sentenced to 18 months in prison. During his 2008 trial, he told the court he was motivated by his outrage at television images of torture of Iraqi inmates at the U.S. prison at Abu Ghraib.

Bill Donohue: Those French Writers Had It Coming To Them For Insulting Religion

"Killing in response to insult, no matter how gross, must be unequivocally condemned. That is why what happened in Paris cannot be tolerated. But neither should we tolerate the kind of intolerance that provoked this violent reaction. Those who work at this newspaper have a long and disgusting record of going way beyond the mere lampooning of public figures, and this is especially true of their depictions of religious figures. For example, they have shown nuns masturbating and popes wearing condoms. They have also shown Muhammad in pornographic poses. While some Muslims today object to any depiction of the Prophet, others do not. Moreover, visual representations of him are not proscribed by the Koran. What unites Muslims in their anger against Charlie Hebdo is the vulgar manner in which Muhammad has been portrayed. What they object to is being intentionally insulted over the course of many years. On this aspect, I am in total agreement with them. Stephane Charbonnier, the paper’s publisher, was killed today in the slaughter. It is too bad that he didn’t understand the role he played in his tragic death. In 2012, when asked why he insults Muslims, he said, 'Muhammad isn’t sacred to me.' Had he not been so narcissistic, he may still be alive." - Bill Donohue, writing for the Catholic League.

Obama & Kerry Condemn Attack In Paris

Via CNN:

President Barack Obama strongly condemned the terror attack in Paris on Tuesday that claimed 12 lives and praised France for standing "shoulder to shoulder" in the fight against terrorism. Obama said in a statement that the U.S. would provide "any assistance" to "America's oldest ally" in bringing the terrorists to justice. Obama was briefed on the attack against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Tuesday morning and senior U.S. national security officials have been in touch with their French counterparts. Three gunmen burst into the magazine's headquarters on Tuesday morning and also fired at police officers in the streets outside while shouting "Allahu Akbar" -- God is Great in Arabic. "Time and again, the French people have stood up for the universal values that generations of our people have defended," Obama said. "France, and the great city of Paris where this outrageous attack took place, offer the world a timeless example that will endure well beyond the hateful vision of these killers."

Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the French people directly -- in both English and French -- expressing American solidarity in the face of the attacks. "We stand with you in solidarity and in commitment both to the cause of confronting extremism and in the cause which the extremists fear so much and which has always united our two countries: freedom," Kerry said in a press conference. "No country knows better than France, that freedom has a price because France gave birth to democracy itself." Kerry made similar remarks in French, proclaiming that terrorists who claim the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is dead, are wrong. "Le pouvoir de la liberte d'expression vainquera dans la lutte contre l'obscurantisme," he said, meaning "The power of freedom of expression will be victorious in the fight against darkness." The Department of Homeland Security is "closely monitoring" the situation in Paris, a senior official from the department said in a statement.

FRANCE: Twelve Killed By Terrorists At Paris Offices Of Satire Magazine

Via the BBC:

Gunmen have shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in an apparent militant Islamist attack. Four of the magazine's well-known cartoonists, including its editor-in-chief, were among those killed, as well as two police officers. A major police operation is under way to find three gunmen who fled by car. President Francois Hollande said there was no doubt it had been a terrorist attack "of exceptional barbarity". The masked attackers opened fire with assault rifles in the office and exchanged shots with police in the street outside before escaping by car. They later abandoned the car in Rue de Meaux, northern Paris. Witnesses said they heard the gunmen shouting "we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad".

Much of northern Paris is on lockdown as police seek the attackers, who are said to have spoken "unaccented fluent French." The US Embassy in France has change their Twitter profile photo in solidarity. US Secretary of State John Kerry will issue a statement shortly.

Vandals Deflate Paris Butt Plug

Via the Independent:

A giant inflatable ‘Christmas tree’ appears to have been vandalised overnight on Friday, hours after its creator admitted being partly inspired by a joke about an anal sex toy. The controversial piece entitled ‘Tree’ by US artist Paul McCarthy was erected over the Place Vendome in Paris as part of the FIAC international art festival. Its 80ft high presence immediately drew outcry from some residents, who said Paris had been “humiliated” by the installation. Others dismissed the sculpture as a "provocation" and called for its removal.

The artist says the piece will be re-inflated. (Tipped by JMG reader Buxton)

Headline Of The Day

Details.

Parisians Protest Sochi Olympics

FRANCE: Neo-Nazis Back Manif Pour Tous In Massive Anti-Gay Rallies

Led by Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, the 24 year-old granddaughter of neo-Nazi National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has been convicted multiple times for inciting racial hatred, today Manif Pour Tous yet again staged massive anti-gay rallies in Paris and Lyon, where tens of thousands marched against LGBT families. The granddaughter, seen in the first clip below, is the youngest person ever elected to France's Parliament. In the second clip, a demonstrator burns a paper bearing the name of French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira, who became a gay icon for her ardent support of same-sex marriage. France's gay marriage law is known nationally as "Taubira's Law." As the third clip explains, the theme of today's protest is anger over the right of same-sex couples to use surrogacy to build their families. A member of France's opposition UMP party is live-tweeting many photos from the event.



RELATED: JMG reader David writes from Paris to tip us to the below poll from Le Parisien, which asks its readers if Manif Pour Tous has any reason for continuing to exist. You know what to do.

FRANCE: Thousands Of Anti-Gay Right Wingers Protest President Hollande

Torrential rains forced France's famed anti-gay Hommen into a totally not homoerotic group huddle during yesterday's protest against President Francois Hollande. As is typical for France's neo-Nazi supported anti-gay movement, things got violent.

Several thousand people marched through Paris on Sunday in a "Day of Anger" against embattled President Francois Hollande which ended in clashes between police and protesters. Security forces used tear gas to disperse several hundred youths who lobbed police with bottles, fireworks, iron bars and dustbins. Police on Monday said at least 250 people had been arrested after the clashes, during which 12 officers were injured. Interior Minister Manuel Valls condemned the violence "by individuals, varied groups from the extreme and ultra-right, whose only goal is to create unrest". The march organised by a motley group of some 50 small and mainly right-wing organisations, however failed to attract bigger anti-Hollande movements. Organisers claimed a turnout of some 120,000 people, however police estimated there were 17,000 people at the protest, held under pouring rain. The demonstrators railed against a slew of policies under Hollande - the most unpopular French president of modern times - such as last year's law allowing gay marriage.

In the video below you'll see two men performing the quenelle, which is a 21st century French version of the Nazi salute.

(Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

Hommen Vs Femen

The Hommen: Young buff male anti-gay extremists who protest France's gay marriage law by staging homoerotic half-nude protests. The Femen: Young buff female Ukrainian activists who denounce the oppression of women and gays by staging topless protests. And finally they meet when the Hommen show up outside the Femen's Paris office to chant slogans and throw brassieres at the windows. Note that two of the Femen taunted the Hommen boys back by, you guessed it, hanging out of the windows topless. (Regarding the photo, I'm told that the Hommen are doing some kind of Christian fascist salute.)

(Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

Paris To Host Gay Games 2018

The Federation of Gay Games tonight declared Paris to be the winner of the bidding to host Gay Games X, which will be held in 2018. Paris beat fellow finalists London and Limerick, Ireland. Eliminated earlier this year were Amsterdam and Orlando, the latter of which had earned the endorsement of President Obama. Via press release:

The international delegates and board of directors of the Federation of Gay Games voted at the end of a three-day meeting featuring site inspection reports, question-and-answer sessions, committee reviews and, a highlight of the event, the oral presentation by each bidding organization. This meeting was held in Cleveland, host with Akron, of the 2014 Gay Games, presented by the Cleveland Foundation next year from 9-16 August. David Killian, co-chair of the FGG Site Selection Committee, noted some factors that may have influenced voters in their choice: “The vote is the result of dozens of individual choices, but some points stood out for many voters. Paris proposed a wide range of sports in quality venues, many of which offer good visibility for the event. French LGBT sport organizations already have a great deal of experience hosting international multisport tournaments, and their LGBT community presents outstanding cultural events. They are already well advanced in planning, for example, with the designation of a dedicated sports manager. They arrived with demonstrable political support, including Minister for Sport Valerie Fourneyron and five-time Olympic fencing medalist Laura Flessel, who were part of the presentation team. And of course Paris is a great destination to visit or revisit.”

Today's vote was held in Cleveland, which will host Gay Games IX in August 2014.

From Paris To Russia With Love

Yesterday LGBT activists staged a kiss-in outside of Russia's consulate in Paris.

The dozens of smooching activists were taking part in an event called “From Paris With Love,” a same-sex “kiss-in” protest outside the Russian embassy in the capital. Sunday’s demo was in opposition to President Vladimir Putin’s “anti-gay propaganda” law, and in anticipation of next year’s Sochi Winter Olympics, as well as being a gesture of pride and solidarity with Russia’s LGBT community. Organized by some 20 groups, primarily SOS Homophobie and Osez le feminisme (Feminism Dares), the protest featured banners and signs that read “Less Putins, more drag queens,” “Shame on you, Russia,” and another reading “Shame on you, Putin,” with a swastika next to the Russian president’s face.

Paris Works To Be Nicer

The tourism bureau of Paris has issued a politeness training manual for locals.

Rude guides, miserable waiters, unhelpful shop staff - these are just a few of the complaints visitors to Paris often make about the city. And it seems tourism chiefs have finally got the message. In the future, visitors may find themselves more welcome, more at home, and better understood in the French capital, thanks to a new manual that will be handed out to those who work in the tourism industry or who come into regular contact with visitors. The 'Do you speak touriste?' campaign, run jointly by the Paris chamber of commerce (CCI) and the regional tourism committee (CRT), was launched on Tuesday. It consists of a manual, which is being sent out to 30,000 tourism industry professionals, as well as a website.

A tourism official notes that British tourists typically want friendliness and a fun experience, while Americans expect speed, efficiency, and a "mastery of English."

Al-Jazeera Reports On Clement Meric