Horror as newborn baby is found dead and dismembered in a rucksack in a Paris home with mother, 21, detained

• Woman told friends on Sunday she’d given birth but that the child was stillborn
• But authorities suspect she may have given birth earlier and killed the infant

By David Averre

Published: 06:06 EDT, 26 July 2023 | Updated: 12:54 EDT, 26 July 2023

NATURE 

The Jewel Box

by Tim Blackburn (W&N, £20)

Hordes of pitch invaders descended upon the Stade de France in Paris — disrupting the final of the UEFA European Football Championship between France and Portugal in July 2016.

But they were not over-enthusiastic football fans. They were moths. One settled on the eyebrow of Portugal’s star, Cristiano Ronaldo, as he lay injured.

Nearly all the moths belonged to a single species: Silver Y. This remarkable moth, which is only 2cm in length, migrates from North Africa to Britain and back again. 

As many as 700 million of them crisscross the Channel and fly over Paris at certain times of the year.

The authorities at the Stade de France had left the floodlights on overnight in preparation for the big game and, in the words of Tim Blackburn, ‘inadvertently created the world’s largest moth trap’. 

Blackburn’s own more modest moth trap is the starting point for this engrossing investigation of moths and what they tell us about the workings of nature.

For the past few years it has been placed on the roof garden of his Camden flat, and sometimes in a Devon holiday home. Each morning, he inspects its contents. 

‘On a good night, I can pick more than 300 moths out of the trap,’ he tells us. He has so far recorded in excess of 500 species. 

For those who know little of moths, the numbers he quotes are surprising. Of all animal species so far named, roughly one in ten is a moth. 

There are around 140,000 species worldwide; Britain alone has 2,500. (This compares with about 60 species in this country of their more glamorous cousins, the butterflies.)

Their names are often eye-catching — Jersey Tiger, Mottled Willow, Maiden’s Blush, Flounced Rustic and True Lover’s Knot.

One species is known as the Dingy Footman. The name dates back to the 18th century, when footmen were rather more common than they are now. 

The creatures were so-called because ‘most Footmen sit with their greyish or yellowy wings tight to their bodies, looking like tiny stiff figures in formal tailcoat livery’.

The variety to be seen in British moths is remarkable. Oak Eggars have bodies covered in fur. 

‘The overall look,’ Blackburn comments, ‘is not unlike a bemused Honey Monster.’

The Death’s-head Hawk-moth takes its name from a mark on its back that resembles a skull. 

It’s as large as a mouse and ‘can squeak like one, too’. Britain’s largest resident species, the Privet Hawk-moth, has the wingspan of a small bird.

Moths are the prey of birds and bats. Some have evolved camouflage to fool their predators. The adult Buff-tip is easily mistaken for a piece of broken birch twig. 

Others disguise themselves as bird droppings: the Scorched Carpet looks like those of a large bird; the Chinese Character mimics those of a smaller one.

There are moths that can thwart bats. Sensitive ears, which can be located on all parts of their bodies, alert them to a bat’s approach. 

Others can produce their own ultrasound, ‘jamming’ the echolocation system their hunters use to track them.

There are species that Blackburn will never find in his moth trap. Numbers of the Beaded Chestnut have declined by 92 per cent in the past few decades; those of the Garden Dart by even more.

The Stout Dart, described in a field guide as ‘drab and mousy’, has not been seen since 2007. In all likelihood, it is extinct, like 50 other moths which have disappeared from the British fauna since 1900.

Migrants have replaced some. The Box-tree moth, native to China and Korea, which turned up one night in Blackburn’s trap, hitch-hiked to Britain in shipments of Box plants.

Blackburn describes his moth trap as ‘a box of enchantment, one that can conjure life out of thin air’. 

He has used it to create an equally enchanting book, which not only celebrates moths but provides an introduction to the basic ideas of ecology and the study of the natural world.

Rioting broke out in a Paris suburb tonight after a policeman was accused of executing a teenage driver in cold blood after telling him: ‘I’m going to lodge a bullet in your head’.

The alleged killing was videoed in Nanterre, to the west of the French capital, earlier today after the youth – who is from an Algerian background – was said to have broken traffic rules.

The victim was soon identified as Nael, 17, while the officer was arrested and placed in custody.

As youths began to pour on the streets, setting fire to dustbins and buildings, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin appealed for calm.

He told the National Assembly in Paris that the images posted on social media were ‘extremely shocking and worrying,’ and urged people to ‘respect the grief of the family and the presumption of innocence of the police’.

Angry scenes played out in Paris this evening as youths confronted police, with videos shared on social media showing pushing and shoving between young men and officers wearing riot gear.

One clip appeared to show a young woman shouting ‘I hate France’ as an officer mutters ‘return to Africa’.

Seven people have so far been arrested after protesting this evening, authorities said.

Two other people were in the vehicle with Nael at the time of the shooting. A first passenger fled, while the second, also a minor, was arrested and taken into custody.

Nanterre mayor Patrick Jarry said he was ‘shocked’ by the video images and passed his ‘sincere condolences to the boy’s mother’.

‘He hopes that the investigations opened (…) will make it possible to shed light as quickly as possible on the exact circumstances of this tragedy,’ his office said.

The 17-year-old was in the Paris suburb of Nanterre earlier today when police shot him dead after he broke road rules and failed to stop, prosecutors said.

Emergency services tried to resuscitate him at the scene but he died shortly afterwards.

The officer accused of firing on the driver has been detained on homicide charges, the Nanterre prosecutors’ office said.

An authenticated  video circulating on social media shows two police officers trying to stop the vehicle and one pointing his weapon at the driver through the window 

He shouts ‘I’m going to lodge a bullet in your head’ before firing at point blank range when as the driver steers away.

The car moved for 10 yards, before crashing to a halt, with shocked passers-by looking on.

The IGPN national police inspectorate has opened an investigation into possible intentional killing by a person holding a position of public authority.

A separate probe is being carried out by regional police into the driver’s failure to halt and alleged attempt to kill a person holding a position of public authority

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said the action of the officer ‘raises questions’, while claiming that the officer may have ‘felt threatened.’

The family’s lawyer Yassine Bouzrou told the same channel that while all parties needed to wait for the result of the investigation the images ‘clearly showed a policeman killing a young man in cold blood.’

‘This is a long way from any kind of legitimate defence’ he said, adding the family had filed a complaint, accusing police of ‘lying’ by initially claiming the car had tried to run down the officers.

‘It’s so sad, he was so young,’ said Samia Bough, 62, the teenager’s former neighbour, who came to lay a bouquet of yellow roses at the scene.

In 2022, a record 13 deaths were recorded after refusals to stop for traffic controls. Five police officers have been charged in these cases.

Authorities and police unions blame the 2022 figures on more dangerous driving behaviour, but researchers also point to a 2017 law modifying the conditions of the use of their weapon by the police.

Two weeks ago, a 19-year-old was killed by a police officer he had injured in the legs with his car in the western town of Angouleme.

The left reacted with anger, saying police had no right to kill people simply because they refused to stop.

‘Yes, a refusal to stop is against the law. But death is not one of the sanctions provided for by the penal code,’ tweeted the coordinator of the hard left France Unbowed (LFI) party, Manuel Bompard.

‘A refusal to stop does not provide a licence to kill,’ said Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure.

Sam and Lara Worthington put on a rare PDA and can barely keep their hands off each during Paris Fashion Week – as model shows off her edgy new look

By Kinta Walsh-cotton For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 21:52 EDT, 22 June 2023 | Updated: 21:52 EDT, 22 June 2023

Kylie Jenner looked sensational as she celebrated her pal’s birthday on Sunday evening at a cabaret club in Paris called the Crazy Horse.

The Kardashians star, 25, who has been enjoying a girls trip in the French capital, put on a very leggy display in a little black leather dress and matching stilettos. 

She opted for a flawless bronzed makeup look underneath a pair of stylish sunglasses.  

Kylie wore her brunette locks in a blown out style as she arrived at the lavish venue after having a meal at Caesar’s.

On Friday night, Kylie joined a group of pals attending Beyonce’s incredible show at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris. 

Taking to TikTok to document the night out, Kylie posed up a storm while singing in the backseat of her SUV.

The beauty mogul looked incredible in figure-hugging nude top with leather sleeves and a black mini skirt, which she styled with over-the-knee boots.

She styled her dark locks in a tousled up-do and opted for a glamorous make-up look, including a touch of nude matte lipstick.

In the video, she sang to Beyonce hits with a glass of wine in her hand as she panned the camera around to show her friends dancing along.

Kylie also took to her Instagram to share an array of behind-the-scenes shots with her mother Kris Jenner, who joined her for the concert.

Kris looked stylish in a shiny silver jacket and posed for a snap backstage with Kylie before they made their way into the stadium.

At Friday’s show in Paris, fans were left gobsmacked when Beyonce brought out her daughter Blue Ivy to perform alongside her.

The singer, 41, sent the crowds wild when she brought out her eldest child Blue, 11, to dance with her on stage in a surprise appearance.

Her daughter joined her on-stage for a performance of My Power, which appears in 2019’s live action version of The Lion King.

Blue wore metallic silver trousers, a sequinned top and oval shades as she danced alongside her mother and a whole host of backing dancers.

Beyonce looked every inch the proud mother as she smiled at Blue, who then led the dancers as the Love On Top hitmaker sang from on top of a vehicle on stage.

Blue proved she is following in her mother’s footsteps as she showed off her dance moves while leading the backing dancers at the front of the stage.

To finish the number, Blue, Beyonce and the dancers all fist-pumped the air as the crowds went completely wild over the performance.

Beyonce’s mother Tina Knowles took to Instagram to share footage of the sweet moment, gushing over her fearless granddaughter.

Alongside a video of the song’s closing moments, Tina, 69, penned: ‘Last night I saw my beautiful grandbaby (11) dance in the front of almost 70 thousand people!

‘She killed it and was as cool as a cucumber! Blue Ivy Carter. No Fear.’

The Renaissance World Tour is the ongoing ninth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyonce and supports her seventh studio album, Renaissance.

Her set list includes a host of her smash hits, like Formation, Run The World (Girls) and Love on Top, opening with a mash-up of Dangerously In Love, Flaws And All, and 1+1.

Renaissance was one of the biggest albums of the summer last year after the pop icon released the disco-inspired collection of dance songs.

My nine-year-old son holds my hand firmly and leads me in the direction of a benign looking mound of fake neolithic stones.

‘Come on, Mum! This is the new ride, we have to try it.’ If I’d looked more closely at the skeletal track beyond, I would have opted out.

The ride is called Toutatis — Parc Asterix’s record-breaking new attraction, which accelerates at 70mph (a record speed for France), before abruptly reversing and dragging passengers 51m up a vertical boom and plummeting them back to Earth again.

I’m not counting how many times my bum leaves my seat as we hurtle around sharp bends and are thrown upside down. When I finally emerge on jelly legs, and take a proper look at the carriages hurtling up and around the steel tracks, I realise it looks as terrifying as it feels, even so I go again the next day with my eldest daughter.

The sign of a good roller-coaster, according to Toutatis project engineer Julien Simon, is that you go on the first time to brave it and then go on again because you love it. Judging by the 70-minute queues at 10.30am, there are clearly thrillseekers all over Europe who are either braving it or loving it.

I’ve come to Parc Asterix, just north of Paris, with my three children aged seven, nine and 11. It’s a post-SATs treat for my eldest, who was hankering after a visit to Disneyland. Parc Asterix is half the price. 

My eldest had chanced upon an Asterix comic book at school, and so already knows something of the warrior’s scrapes and mishaps while defending his Breton village against the march of the Romans. The other two have a crash-course in the story of Asterix and his sidekick, Obelix, in the park’s 4D cinema and don’t seem to even notice the film is in French.

It’s the ‘Frenchness’ of the park that makes it so appealing. Who wants to go to France to engage with American culture? Here, they are surrounded by the language and those Gallic characters created nearly 65 years ago, by Albert Uderzo and Rene Goscinny.

The park is beautifully landscaped with forests and lakes, and is divided into zones: Egypt, with a thrilling inverted roller-coaster called Oziris; Greece, with wooden coaster Tonnerre 2 Zeus, which was renovated last year, and the family coaster Pegase Express (a maximum speed of just 30mph, and a chilling — for my youngest — encounter with Medusa); and there’s also Rome and Paris. 

The new area, Festival Toutatis, is an extension of Asterix’s Gaulish village.

Throughout the park the food is exceptionally tasty, and you can sit on a restaurant terrace and imagine you are in a Provencal village, rather than a theme park.

There are many smaller attractions, including a 19th-century carousel, seven water rides and a daily programme of shows, including the excellent Les Plongeons de l’Olympe, in which Olympic-standard divers jump off increasingly high platforms (all included in the park’s €39 day entrance fee).

As the sun sets behind the trees, we wander back to the three-star La Cite Suspendue hotel, a fairytale collection of wooden huts hidden deep in the forest.

It may not be Disneyland, but it’s the stuff of which childhood dreams are made.

Paris awaits, but is my passport still valid? Is a 10am hotel check-out too early? Am I too old to hire a car in America? The Holiday Guru tackles travellers’ questions

By Mail on Sunday Reporter

Published: 05:12 EDT, 15 May 2023 | Updated: 05:12 EDT, 15 May 2023

Witness the evolution of Paris from the glamour of the Belle Epoque era through to the Second World War and beyond, courtesy of this breathtaking coffee table book.

Paris Then and Now by Peter and Oriel Caine, published by Pavilion, matches archival images of the city with contemporary photographs taken from the same viewpoint, honing in on Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and the Gare du Nord railway station.

Both authors have been living in Paris for the past 30 years and run Paris Walks, a company that offers English-language walking tours of the city throughout the year.

In the introduction to the book, they write: ‘The story of Paris is one that covers more than 2,000 years, and remarkably, the city has safeguarded wonderful evidence of its heritage from every age.

‘The origins of the city can be traced from prehistoric times to the present day simply by walking through the streets. There is nothing more exciting or pleasurable to do in the city than seek fragments of the past, now woven into the fabric of today; this is what the following pages aim to do.’ 

Scroll down for a ‘stunning visual history of Europe’s most beautiful and romantic city’, as the book promises…

TOUR EIFFEL – PICTURED IN 1889 AND PRESENT DAY 

ARC DE TRIOMPHE – PICTURED IN 1890 AND PRESENT DAY

GARE D’ORSAY/MUSEE D’ORSAY – PICTURED IN 1935 AND PRESENT DAY 

GARE DU NORD – PICTURED IN 1919 AND PRESENT DAY

PLACE DE LA CONCORDE – PICTURED IN 1912 AND PRESENT DAY 

CHAMPS ELYSEES – PICTURED IN 1900 AND PRESENT DAY 

MINISTERE DE LA MARINE – PICTURED IN 1944 AND PRESENT DAY 

STATION DE METRO ODEON – PICTURED IN 1910 AND PRESENT DAY  

PONT ST MICHEL – PICTURED IN 1880 AND PRESENT DAY  

COUR DU LOUVRE – PICTURED IN 1860 AND PRESENT DAY 

Philippe Starck is one of the most prolific designers in the world, creating everything from staplers to wind turbines and from furniture to superyachts, such as Steve Jobs’ Venus and the jaw-dropping Motor Yacht A.

Luckily for visitors to the French capital, the talented Frenchman also found time to squeeze in a few hotel restorations, including a two-year transformation of ‘palace-rated’ hotel Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris, producing a veritable work of art.

It’s not just eye-opening to behold, I discover. This property, which has a most elegant facade, pampers and soothes with a stunning spa and opulent bedrooms – and offers top-level taste-bud tickling thanks to stellar restaurants.

Throw in faultless service – no Parisian haughtiness here – and a winning location on Avenue Hoche near the Arc de Triomphe, and you have a hotel that can practically do no wrong.

There’s a fascinating history behind the property, too.

After it opened in 1928 it became a rendezvous spot of choice for artists and intellectuals, with guests that included singer and actor Maurice Chevalier and American novelist Ernest Hemingway.

After the Second World War, Ho Chi Minh spent seven weeks at the property during the Fontainebleau Conference, which was to determine the future of Franco-Vietnamese relations. Then, in May 1948, David Ben Gourion and Golda Meir signed the birth certificate of the State of Israel on its premises.

Prestigious guests came, returned and met up: Novelist Joseph Kessel, Walt Disney, the Maharajahs of Indore and Kashmir, King Farouk of Egypt, the Aga Khan. In their footsteps would later come Madonna, Robert de Niro, Lou Reed and Sofia Coppola.

One lure for Hollywood types is the hotel’s swanky 99-seat cinema, described as ‘the best private movie theatre in Europe’ by Gilles Jacob, former chairman of the Cannes film festival.

Following in the footsteps of the rich and famous in April 2023 is me, my partner and our excitable five-year-old daughter.

We’re housed in a £2,300-per-night, 64-square-metre (689-sq-ft) junior suite, which I find mildly mind-blowing. It positively oozes luxurious glamour.

At this point, it would be traditional to point out the room’s ‘piece de resistance’. But the stand-out features are spinning around in my mind like items on a gameshow wheel – two giant 42-inch TVs hidden in mirrors… spin, spin… a magnificent king-sized bed with goose-down bedding and a wrap-around headboard studded with handy power sockets… spin, spin… the eclectic furniture including a modish chaise-longue and beautiful Art Deco lamp… the spins slow… and coming to a rest at the top is the like-no-other bathroom, accessed through huge sliding wooden doors in the living room area.

It’s a dazzling jewel-like space with two mirrored walls on which hang huge mirrors with reflective frames. The free-standing shelving units are entirely reflective, too. (The floor, fortunately, remains opaque.)

A beautiful white standalone tub and twin rectangular white sinks dissipate the energy, while a rainfall shower at the end is pure joy. We love the Clarins toiletries, too.

Honestly, I could live out the rest of my days in this suite. Or perhaps make that ‘this hotel’.

The ethereal dreamscape of a subterranean spa spellbinds in equal measure. Billed as a ‘white paradise’ (white is the unmistakable theme), the piece de resistance is easier to pinpoint here – the otherworldly 23-metre pool, bathed in natural light thanks to multiple skylights, bookended at either end by white curtains, and featuring a huge mirror wall (on the remote off-chance that you missed your reflection in the bedroom bathroom).

There’s also a 35C Turkish bath to loll in and luxurious (white) sofas to recline on landside.

The hotel dazzles on the ground floor too.

Here there’s a very chic bar, the Michelin-starred Il Carpaccio Italian restaurant (closed during our visit), and Matsuhisa Paris, by world-renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa, where we enjoy a seven-course sushi-themed extravaganza in a stunning setting – a pillared room with vast metallic lampshades hanging over the tables on the sides.

Breakfast is served in the same room, and is highly impressive, with a buffet stuffed with exquisite croissants and pain au chocolat, and buoyant, on-point waiting staff delivering morning newspapers to the table, a choice of salted and unsalted butter, perfect eggs with soldiers and great coffee served in mirrored coffee cups by Philippe Starck and porcelain-maker Raynaud that are decorated with bright red lips.

A pleasingly whimsical touch in a hotel that never fails to please. Time to find out what Philippe Starck has done to the humble stapler…

A British teenager collapsed in the shower and died while she was visiting her aunt in Paris – moments after she said she was ‘fine’.

Rhea Hourigan, 19, suffered a mystery cardiac arrest, the cause of which remains unknown, as she was getting ready for bed.

A Durham University student, Rhea had been ‘thriving’ before her sudden death and had decided to travel to Paris after a few days at home in Birmingham over the Easter holidays.

The apparently healthy teenager had been out all day seeing the sights in the French capital on an electric bike before tragedy struck, with her heartbroken mother saying her only comfort was that her daughter ‘didn’t suffer’.

Paramedics raced to the scene where, despite their best efforts, Rhea’s life couldn’t be saved. She was pronounced dead in the early hours of April 29, according to a GoFundMe page started to support her family.

The cause of the teenager’s cardiac arrest is still not clear a week later, with reports saying she was not known to have suffered from any conditions and that there was no history of heart failure in her family.

Rhea’s mother Jo paid tribute to her daughter on Facebook, saying: ‘She had so many plans, dreams and aspirations she was our bright shining star. 

‘She hadn’t even finished her first year of uni which she absolutely loved up in Durham and had made so many good friends. 

‘Our only comfort is that she was so happy and had such a brilliant day seeing the sights of Paris, she wouldn’t have known what had happened and didn’t suffer.’

Polly Townhill, a close friend of Jo, told The Mirror that Rhea’s aunt had been worried after her niece had been in the bathroom for a long time.

‘Her auntie knocked to say “Is everything all right you coming out?” She answered her, Rhea said: “Yeah, yeah, I’m on my way out.” Then she heard a bang…’ 

Polly said Rhea had full travel insurance but it hasn’t covered what the family will need, with costs being pushed up by necessities like an interpreter.

‘There’s so much red tape over there and they have to treat her death as mitigating circumstances,’ said Polly.

‘It would still be a tragedy without this, but her parents cannot see their child. They are desperate to bring her home.’

‘Those are the two main things I know and it means that they haven’t been able to have an autopsy. Jo has just faced brick wall after brick wall.’

Rhea’s family travelled to France after hearing of her death and have since returned, with her body remaining there ahead of an autopsy next week, according to a family friend.

It is hoped Rhea’s body will be repatriated shortly after the autopsy is complete. 

To help with costs incurred during the ordeal, friends and family have raised a staggering £23,000 within just one day of a GoFundMe page being set up for Rhea’s parents Jo and Dom.

Dawn Buchanan, who started the page, said that Rhea’s death has left her parents Jo and Dom, grandparents, aunts, uncles and brother Joel, devastated. 

Tributes have poured in for the teenager, who had a job as a cashier at a Nando’s branch near her home in the West Midlands.

Lauren Cutts, a friend of Rhea’s, shared on social media: ‘Last Friday we lost Rhea Hourigan who was beautiful, kind, ambitious so much more. Please take a moment to read about her and donate if possible. Rest in peace Rhea.’

Friends of Rhea’s parents shared their personal heartbreak at the news on Facebook, and urged people to support the ‘devastated’ family.

‘I hope everyone can contribute,’ one said of the fund, describing Rhea as a ‘beautiful and kind young lady with the world at her feet.’