• Legalization of same-sex marriage in France met with celebrations, protests

    Etienne Laurent / Xinhua via Zuma Press

    Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate after France's legislators approved a bill for same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. Lawmakers in the lower house National Assembly passed the bill by 331 votes for and 225 against.

    PARIS (Reuters) - France became the 14th country to allow same-sex marriage on Tuesday after parliament approved a new law championed by President Francois Hollande, but it came at a political price amid violent street protests and a rise in homophobic attacks.

    Hollande's "marriage for all" law is one of the biggest social reforms in France since his left-wing mentor and predecessor Francois Mitterrand abolished the death penalty in 1981, a move which also split opinion.

    Read the full story.

    Yoan Valat / EPA

    Anti-gay marriage protesters set off fireworks during a demonstration in Paris, France, April 23.

    Christophe Ena / AP

    Demonstrators face riot police, Tuesday, April 23, in Paris, France.

    Ian Langsdon / EPA

    Unidentified protesters against same-sex marriage call with a banner for a referendum as they attempt to disrupt the final parliamentary vote in the French National Assembly to legalize gay marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children, at the French National Assembly in Paris, France, April 23.

     

  • Workers clean the Louvre

    Jacques Brinon / AP

    A window cleaner works on the glass pyramid of the Louvre museum in Paris, on Tuesday.

  • Nearly 100 years after they were killed in battle, British soldiers are laid to rest

    Denis Charlet / AFP - Getty Images

    A coffin containing the remains of a British soldier is carried on April 23 in the Honorable Artillery Company (HAC) Cemetery at Ecoust-Saint- Mein. Four British soldiers were laid to rest with full military honors in northern France on April 23, nearly a century after they were killed in action in World War I. Their bodies were discovered in 2009 when a local farmer was clearing one of his fields.

    Denis Charlet / AFP - Getty Images

    Coffins containing the remains of British soldiers are prepared for burial on April 23 in the HAC Cemetery at Ecoust-Saint- Mein.

    Almost 100 years after they were killed in action, Lieutenant John Harold Pritchard and Private Christopher Douglas Elphick were re-interred with full military honors in a private ceremony. Lieutenant Pritchard was killed in action on May 15, 1917 during an enemy attack near Bullecourt, France and his remains were found in a field near the site in 2009. His body was eventually identified by a silver bracelet with his name engraved on it. Private Elphick was born in Dulwich, South London in 1889. He was killed in action on May 15, 1917 during an enemy attack near Bullecourt, France and his remains were found in a field near the site in 2009. His body was eventually identified by a signet ring bearing his initials. Unidentified remains belonging to two other soldiers were also buried.

    --The Associated Press, AFP - Getty Images

    Denis Charlet / AFP - Getty Images

    The coffin containing the remains of a British soldier is prepared for burial on April 23 in the HAC Cemetery at Ecoust-Saint- Mein.

    Virginia Mayo / AP

    Relatives of British World War I soldier Lieutenant John Harold Pritchard behind the soldier's headstone after a ceremony at the HAC cemetery in Ecoust-St-Mein, France, on April 23.

    Virginia Mayo / AP

    Farmer Didier Guerle shows a rusted and deteriorated rifle and pickaxe which he found in a field in 2009 near the site where he also located the bodies of two British World War I soldiers in Bullecourt, France, on April 22.

     

  • Snow disrupts transport across northwestern Europe

    Charly Triballeau / AFP - Getty Images

    A woman walks on a snowy road in Caen, northwestern France, during a heavy snowstorm on March 12, 2013. Overnight Monday nearly 500 cars were blocked near Cherbourg, where snowdrifts piled up almost two feet as winds reached more than 60 miles an hour.

    Pascal Rossignol / Reuters

    A man shovels snow off his car in Cambrai, northern France, on March 12, 2013.

    Nicolas Armer / EPA

    A snowplow removes snow at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 12, 2013. Over 200 flights were cancelled as bad weather hampered efforts by snow sweepers to clear runways and prevented airline crews from reaching work on time.

    Reuters reports — An overnight snowstorm in northwestern Europe forced the closure of Frankfurt Airport, caused record traffic jams in Belgium, and left British and French drivers sleeping in their cars. 

    Take-offs and landings at Europe's third-busiest airport were halted at around noon on Tuesday to clear snow from the runways. It was set to reopen at around 8.30 a.m. ET.

    The high-speed Eurostar train service connecting London with the French and Belgian capitals and the Thalys line linking Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Cologne in Germany were both suspended. Read the full story.

    Charly Triballeau / AFP - Getty Images

    Firefighters rescue a driver who slid from a roadside during a heavy snowstorm in Caen, northwestern France, on March 12, 2013.

    Pascal Rossignol / Reuters

    Firefighters evacuate a man in Cambrai, northern France, on March 12, 2013 as winter weather with snow and freezing temperatures returns to the region.

    Ian Langsdon / EPA

    A pedestrian braves heavy snowfall on the snow-covered Champs de Mars near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on March 12, 2013.

     

  • French Goodyear workers make a last ditch effort to save their jobs

    Lionel Bonaventure / AFP - Getty Images

    Protesting Goodyear workers chant slogans in front of the company's French headquarters in Rueil-Malmaison on March 7, 2013. Goodyear announced in January 2013 that it would close a factory in Amiens, northern France that employs 1,250 people by the end of 2014.

    Jacky Naegelen / Reuters

    French CRS riot police stand guard in front of tire maker Goodyear Dunlop France headquarters during a demonstration against job cuts in Rueil Malmaison, March 7, 2013.

    Jacky Naegelen / Reuters

    Protestors scuffle with French CRS riot police in front of Goodyear Dunlop France headquarters during a demonstration against job cuts in Rueil Malmaison, France, March 7, 2013.

    Remy De La Mauviniere / AP

    Goodyear employees scuffle with riot policemen during a demonstration against layoffs in front of Goodyear headquarters in Rueil Malmaison, west of Paris, March 7, 2013.

    Lionel Bonaventure / AFP - Getty Images

    A protesting Goodyear France worker faces riot police in the western Paris suburb of Rueil-Malmaison on March 7, 2013 during a board meeting.

    Remy De La Mauviniere / AP

    Riot policemen protect themselves during a demonstration Goodyear employees, at the Goodyear headquarters in Rueil Malmaison, March 7, 2013.

    AP reports: Burning the very fruit of their labor, workers from Goodyear clashed with police outside the tire-maker's French headquarters Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to save their jobs.

    Goodyear has been trying to restructure or close its plant in northern France for five years in the face of a shrinking European car market. The workers say Goodyear wants to shift the work to China, where tires can be made more cheaply and which is closer to booming markets. Full story

    Riot police and demonstrators protesting the planned closure of a Gooodyear factory in France clashed outside the company's French headquarters. NBCNews.com's Alex Witt reports.

  • 460-year-old King Henri IV gets a facelift

    Philippe Roesch / Visual Forensic via AFP - Getty Images

    A computer generated image shows a reconstruction of the head of French King Henri IV (1553-1610) made after a panel of forensic scientists identified the skull of the king who was murdered at the age of 57 on May 14, 1610, by a fanatic.

    Bellet-gabet / Bellet / Galaxy Press via AFP - Getty Images

    The mummified head of French King Henri IV.

    Scientists revealed the reconstructed head of French King Henri IV (1553-1610) during a press conference in Paris on Tuesday. This reconstruction was made three years after a panel of forensic scientists identified the skull of the king, who was murdered by a fanatic, at the age of 57 on May 14, 1610.

    Scientists headed by France's Philippe Charlier found a common genetic profile between the mummified head of Henri IV and dried blood from his descendant, Louis XVI.  

    -- AFP - Getty Images

    Related: King Richard III's face revealed after 500 years

    Loic Venance / AFP - Getty Images

    The skull of French King Henri IV and, at right, its reconstruction, appear on a screen during a press conference in Paris on Feb. 12.

  • Children survive war-torn street of Mali

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    Aissata Coulibaly, 6.

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    Children living in Diabaly, Mali pose for a photograph on Jan. 26.

    European Pressphoto Agency photographer, Nic Bothma, photographed the children living on the same street in the small rice growing community of Diabaly, Mali where French airstrikes pushed out Islamic rebels days earlier.

    On Jan. 14, the rebels vandalized the town's church, desecrated religious symbols, raided shops and took down the Malian flag. For eight days the children lived in fear.

    Then the French launched a late night precision airstrike, destroying vehicles within feet of the children’s homes. The strikes caused vehicles to explode and set off ammunition with bullets and shrapnel flying in all directions. The shrapnel caused damage to the mud houses but miraculously there were no fatalities.

    While some children were injured, the majority remained physically unharmed. Four days later the French and Malian forces entered the town to cheers from the villagers.

    --European Pressphoto Agency

    Editor's Note: The children's portraits were photographed by EPA on Jan. 26, and made available to NBC News today.

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    Kadia Sangialiba, 3.

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    Mariam Coulibaly, 10.

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    Ageisha Yattara, 7.

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    Assan Diarra, 10.

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    Uomou Coulibaly, 4.

    Nic Bothma / EPA

    Omar Djibo, 5.

  • French woman freed from Mexican prison after 7 years fighting for innocence

    Yoan Valat / EPA

    Florence Cassez embraces her mother Charlotte Cassez, as French Minister for Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius looks on, upon her arrival in Paris on Jan. 24.

    Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP - Getty Images file

    French national Florence Cassez listens to her lawyer behind bars on Jan. 22, 2008 in Mexico City. Mexico's Supreme Court ordered yesterday, the immediate release of Cassez serving 60 years in prison for kidnapping, ruling that authorities had violated her legal rights.

    Mexico's Supreme Court ordered the immediate release of Florence Cassez, a 38-year-old French woman who had been sentenced to 60 years in jail for kidnapping and other crimes. The court ended the seven-year Mexican prison ordeal by ruling yesterday that there were serious irregularities in the way the case was handled, including a failure to grant Cassez due process.

    Reuters reported, Charlotte Cassez, her mother, told French television, "It's an explosion of joy. It's wonderful."

    "It's not far from being the best day of my life. We've been waiting for so long," she said after hearing about her daughter's release. "She deserves it. She is innocent and has fought to prove that. It's a victory for her." Continue reading article.

    -- Reuters, European Pressphotos Agency

  • Viral: Eerie photo of French soldier in Mali upsets military officials

    Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images

    A French soldier wearing a skeleton mask stands next to a tank in a street in Niono, Mali.

    By Isolde Raftery, Staff Writer, NBC News

    The image was taken innocently enough: A landing helicopter kicked up a dust storm as French soldiers moved toward Niono, in northern Mali, an area held by al-Qaida-linked militant groups.


    The soldiers pulled on their goggles to protect their eyes from the dust. One soldier pulled up a black bandana -- with a white skeleton face printed on it -- over his nose. Behind him, light beamed through tree branches, creating an otherworldly image -- the soldier looked like a skeleton in French military fatigues. 

    Photographer Issouf Sanogo of the Agence France-Presse news agency and Yann Foreix of Le Parisien were drawn to the soldier, whom they photographed. The bandana is an accessory sold for fans of the violent military game “Call of Duty.” At first glance, the soldier bears eerie resemblance to the character Ghost from the video game.   

    Two days after the images were published in newspapers and news sites across Europe, French military officials have announced that they aren’t pleased with the image, according to newspaper Liberation in Paris.

    “This is unacceptable behavior,” said Col. Thierry Burkhard. “This image is not representative of action by France in Mali.”

    France has been moving into the northern region of Mali to wrestle control of the area from militants affiliated with al-Qaida. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves LeDrian said over the weekend that the goal is the "total reconquest of Mali," and that the French military would not "leave any pockets of resistance." Mali is a Muslim country; those in the north are viewed as religious extremists. 

    On the AFP blog, Sanogo, the photographer, said that nothing seemed too out of the ordinary about the image at the time.

    “It was evening. Rays of light filtered through the trees and the clouds were lifted by the helicopter. It was a pretty light. I saw the soldier wearing an odd bandana and I took the photo. At the moment I didn’t find it particularly extraordinary or shocking. The soldier wasn’t posing.”

    Sanogo added: “I don’t know who the soldier is, and I would have trouble recognizing him if I saw him again. I believe, and I hope, that it will be impossible to identify him.”  

    Military and video games have long mixed – the members of SEAL Team 6 were punished for their role in developing the video game "Medal of Honor." The U.S. Army created “America’s Army,” a series of video games to help with recruitment.

    But this image has a more chilling effect, somehow, perhaps because it signifies the conundrum of war: the liberating army as a symbol of freedom, but also of looming death.

    Related: Game originator Col. Casey Wardynski explains thinking behind video game

    Related: SEALs punished for role in developing Medal of Honor video game, official says 

     

  • French and Malian troops take control of Diabaly

    Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images

    People gather near an armored vehicle as French soldiers arrive in the city of Diabaly on Jan. 21. Today, French and Malian troops recaptured the Malian towns of Diabaly and Douentza from Islamist fighters, France's defense minister said. Diabaly has been the center of air strikes and fighting since being seized by Islamists a week ago.

    Joe Penney / Reuters

    French soldiers stand guard in front of charred pickup trucks in Diabaly, Mali, on Jan. 21.

    Jerome Delay / AP

    A Malian soldier checks identity papers in the center of Diabaly, Mali, approximately 320 miles north of the capital Bamako on Jan. 21. French and Malian troops were in the city whose capture by radical Islamists prompted the French military intervention.

    Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images

    A Malian soldier holds a French and Malian flag after arriving in the city of Diabaly on Jan. 21.

    By Bate Felix, Reuters

    French and Malian armored columns rolled into the towns of Diabaly and Douentza in central Mali on Monday after the al Qaida-linked rebels who had seized them fled into the bush to avoid air strikes. 

    France said the advance was a significant step in its campaign to break Islamist fighters' grip over Mali's vast desert north, a presence raising fears of the region becoming a an African launchpad for international militant attacks.

    The stakes in Mali rose dramatically last week when Islamist gunmen cited France's intervention as the reason for attacking a gas plant in neighboring Algeria, seizing hundreds of hostages and sowing fears the conflict would spill across borders. Continue reading the full story.

    Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images

    A girl looks at Islamists pickup trucks destroyed during aerial strikes in Diabaly, Mali, on Jan. 21. Today, French and Malian troops recaptured the Malian towns of Diabaly and Douentza from Islamist fighters, France's defense minister said.

    Joe Penney / Reuters

    Malian soldiers carry a box of ammunition after searching through debris at a Malian military camp in Diabaly, Mali, on Jan. 21. French air strikes hit the camp a week ago after it was taken over by al Qaeda-linked rebels.

    Joe Penney / Reuters

    Malian soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint in Diabaly, Mali, on Jan. 21. Diabaly was retaken by French and Malian forces after al Qaeda-linked rebels took over the town a week ago.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

  • Fearing reprisals, Paris tightens security following French air strikes in Mali

    Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

    Soldiers patrol under the Eiffel Tower on Jan. 14 in Paris. Islamist forces based in northern Mali vowed Monday to avenge France's fierce military offensive against them on French soil.

    Reuters

    A French Rafale fighter jet lands in Ndjamena, Chad, before being deployed in Mali, in this picture provided by the French military and taken on Jan. 13.

    "France has opened the gates of hell for all the French," a spokesman for Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali told Europe 1 radio. "She has fallen into a trap which is much more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia."

    Concerned about reprisals at home, France has tightened security at public buildings and on public transport following four days of French air strikes on the rebels' northern strongholds. Read Story

    Remy De La Mauviniere / AP

    French army soldiers patrol Gare du Nord station in Paris on Jan. 14. France has ordered tightened security in public buildings and transport following action against radical Islamists both in Mali and Somalia.

     

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

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