JADE LE DELEY

This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Joel Le Scouarnec, now 74, sitting in courtroom and accused of raping or abusing 299 people, mostly child patients, at the Vannes courthouse, western France, on the opening day of his trial, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Valentin Pasquier via AP)

A French surgeon is on trial accused of raping or abusing 299 people, mostly child patients

A former surgeon is standing trial in France for the alleged rape or sexual abuse of 299 victims. Most of them were children who were his patients. Investigators and his notebooks describe a pattern of violence spanning over three decades.

FILE - People react to the projection of results during the second round of the legislative elections, near Republique Plaza in Paris, France, on July 7, 2024. For many French voters of diverse backgrounds, last Sunday’s parliamentary election results were a relief, seemingly an embrace of the country’s ethnic heterogeneity instead of a victory for xenophobic far-right forces. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

People of diverse backgrounds in France welcome far right’s defeat, but fear a rise in hate speech

For many French voters of diverse backgrounds, last Sunday’s parliamentary election results were a relief. They were seemingly an embrace of the country’s ethnic heterogeneity instead of a victory for xenophobic far-right forces.

Protestors attend a silent march called by the mother of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk who was killed by police to mark one year since his death, in Nanterre, west of Paris, Saturday, June 29, 2024. The murder of 17-year-old Nahel by an on-duty police officer in June 2023 sparked riots across France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

A French community honors a teen killed by police. Political and racial tensions are the backdrop

The mother of a French teenager with North African origins killed by police held a silent march to mark one year since his death. The shooting sparked shock, disbelief and days of rioting and looting across France.

French protesters are standing up to the far right ahead of the country’s snap elections

Anti-racism groups are joining French unions and a brand-new left-wing coalition in protests in Paris and across France against the surging nationalist far right.

Activists help migrants to pack their belongings in a makeshift camp, early Tuesday, April 23, 2024 in Paris. French police officers have evicted migrants from a makeshift camp in Paris a few steps away from the Seine River, as similar operations have been carried out by authorities ahead of the Olympics. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)

Police clear out a migrant camp in central Paris. Activists say it’s a pre-Olympics sweep

French police have evicted migrants from a makeshift camp in Paris a few steps away from the Seine River. It’s the latest operation in what aid groups call a campaign of “social cleansing” ahead of the Summer Olympics.

A customer has his hair shampooed in a hairdressing salon, in Paris, Wednesday, March 27, 2024. French lawmakers are debating a bill Thursday that would ban discrimination over the texture, length, color or style of someone's hair. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

France’s lower house passes a bill banning hair discrimination. It now goes to the Senate

Lawmakers in France’s lower house of parliament have approved a bill that would ban discrimination over the texture, length, color or style of someone’s hair.

Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti and French President Emmanuel Macron, background right, attendattend a ceremony to seal the right to abortion in the French constitution, on International Women's Day, at the Place Vendome, in Paris, France March 8, 2024. France inscribed the guaranteed right to abortion in its constitution Friday, a powerful message of support for women's right on International Women's Day. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool Photo via AP)

France enshrines abortion as a constitutional right as the world marks International Women’s Day

France has inscribed the guaranteed right to abortion in its constitution, a powerful message of support for women’s rights on International Women’s Day. France is the first country to explicitly guarantee abortion rights in its national charter.

People shop at an open air market in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, France, Friday, Feb 2, 2024. European farmers and households are both hurting these days because of multiple factors, including persistent inflation, high interest rates and volatile energy prices. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Europe’s farmers are struggling, but some sympathetic consumers have difficulty affording their food

French shoppers understand that farmers are struggling and many want to support local food producers. But many stores only stock imported produce, and when French-grown food is available, not everyone can afford it.

FILE - Youth throws a bottle to police forces during riots Thursday, June 29, 2023 in Nanterre, outside Paris. In all, more than 3,600 people have been detained in the unrest across France since the death of Nahel on June 27, with an average age of 17, according to the Interior Ministry. The violence left more than 800 law enforcement officers injured, French courts are working overtime to process the arrests, including opening their doors through the weekend, with fast-track hearings around an hour long and same-day sentencing. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

French justice is working overtime and the mood is stern after thousands of teen arrests

French courts are working overtime in fast-track trials for more than 3,600 people arrested in unrest sparked by the police killing of a 17-year-old boy captured on video.