Nantes
Latest news and important information from Nantes.
Nantes cathedral fire: Volunteer rearrested and charged with arson
A volunteer assistant suspected of setting a French cathedral on fire was rearrested, then indicted and detained in pre-trial custody by prosecutors overnight Saturday to Sunday.
Nantes cathedral fire: Man released in arson probe
French investigators on Sunday released a man who worked as a volunteer at the gothic cathedral of Nantes which was badly damaged by fire hours after he closed it up for the night.
Cars torched and buildings vandalised: Third night of riots in French city after police shooting
Dozens of cars and several buildings were set alight Friday in a third night of rioting in western France over the fatal police shooting of a young man, the latest flare-up of tension between police and youths in poor suburbs with large immigrant populations.
Why the best place to work in France right now is... Nantes
A new study aimed at finding the best city in France to work has ranked Nantes as top of the pile for the second consecutive year. Rose Trigg explains why we should pack our bags and head out west.
Notre-Dame-des-Landes: Does France really need a new airport hub in the west?
The French PM is set to announce on Wednesday whether it will push ahead with controversial plans to build a new airport hub for western France at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, near Nantes.
More clashes as protests turn violent across France
Police reacted with tear gas and water cannons as peaceful protests organized by students and unions turned violent, with clashes in Paris and Nantes in particular.
Fresh rally against French airport plans
Thousands of demonstrators, some arriving by bicycle, some driving tractors, rallied on Saturday to protest at a controversial airport development near the western French city of Nantes.
Blaze ravages historic basilica in France
UPDATED: A huge blaze swept through a 19th century basilica in the western French city of Nantes on Monday morning causing major damage. Locals flocked to share pictures and videos on social media.
Police: Christmas market attacker was drunk
A man who rammed his car into a French Christmas market, killing one person and injuring nine others, had nearly four times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, a police source said Friday.
France deploys 300 extra soldiers after attacks
France has reacted to three shocking attacks on members of the public and police officers by deciding to deploy up to 300 extra soldiers over Christmas.
Driver attacks in France spark copycat act fears
Two frightening incidents in two days of drivers ploughing into pedestrians in France has left authorities fearing there may be more copycat attacks, even if they insist they were not terrorist acts. An emergency government meeting was called on Tuesday.
Driver rams Christmas shoppers in France
A driver ploughed into a Christmas market in western France Monday, injuring 10 people before stabbing himself, a day after a similar attack in another French city. The French government has called an emergency crisis meeting.
'WW2 bomb' kills camper on French island
A 26-year-old man was killed and a friend seriously injured when a suspected World War Two bomb exploded on an island off the north-west coast of France at the weekend.
French theme park owner defends Crimea plans
A French theme park owner who has teamed up with a blacklisted Russian banker to build historical amusement parks in Moscow and Crimea defended his new partner on Saturday, criticizing EU sanctions as a "reign of terror".
Monaco return to top despite PSG win
Only goal difference separates leaders Monaco from Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 after the weekend's action. Newly-promoted Nantes, meanwhile, kept up their impressive start to the season in a firey Breton derby.
Lesbian parents forced to accept rights of father
A lesbian couple in the western city of Nantes were angered this week after a French court made a controversial decision to recognise the parental rights of their child's biological father, who when he donated his sperm had promised to waive all rights to the child.
Government steps in as father's protest continues
France's Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has asked ministers to meet fathers' rights groups in Paris this week as a man remained perched atop a crane in Nantes for a fourth day on Monday in protest at being denied access to his son.
Protest continues at Nantes airport site
Around 100 protesters on Monday occupied land at Notre-Dame-des-Landes where work is slated to begin on the construction of a new airport near Nantes.
Wife of Jewish group head attacked at home
Police are looking for suspects after the wife of the president of a Jewish culture association was tied up and threatened by four men who forced their way into her home.
Town hunts werewolves after sheep attacks
A spate of attacks on sheep, many of them found with their throats slit, have caused a mysterious beast hunt in a town in western France.
Fish allowed to 'come and go as they please'
A court in Nantes has ruled that fish should have the right swim in rivers freely, outlawing the use of man-made devices to control their movements.
Father wanted for family murder: 'I'm superior'
<p>A man believed to have killed his wife and four children last year considered himself to be part of an elite group of intelligent people, superior to 'the masses', newly discovered emails and writings show. </p>
Son kept dead mum's body in cellar for a year
<p>A 23-year-old man has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital after police discovered he had kept the corpse of his dead mother in the cellar for a year. </p>