It is a historic moment for Paris residents but perhaps a dubious one as well, after several swimmers got sick after competing in the open-water races at the 2024 Paris Olympics – although it is not clear if this was due to the water itself, and the World Aquatics governing body said the Seine met necessary thresholds.     A century ago it became illegal to bathe in the waters of the French capital due to severe pollution. In the late 18th and throughout the 19th century, human waste was used fo...

After a century-long ban and an Olympics-inspired cleanup project, Parisians are taking their first dips in the Seine as three new swimming sites opened to the public on Saturday. Here’s a look at the courageous swimmers taking a historic dip.

After a century-long ban and an Olympics-inspired cleanup project, Parisians are taking their first dips in the Seine as three new swimming sites opened to the public on Saturday. Here’s a look at the courageous swimmers taking a historic dip.

Cleopatra has become an icon throughout the centuries, depicted in both classical art and pop culture as a strategic seductress who had relationships with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, overshadowing her role as a head of state. “The Mystery of Cleopatra” exhibit at the Institut du monde arabe in Paris, on view until January 11, 2026, aims to push back on these clichés. It opens with archaeological and historical information about her reign, then shifts to explore how the myth of her was constru...

He was a relative unknown in New York City establishment circles, dismissed for his popularity on social media and lack of experience in the tough world of Big Apple politics. That was until Tuesday night when Zohran Mamdani, 33, closed in on victory in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary, stunning his opponent, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, in what appears to be the liberal city's rebuke of the party’s veteran moderates. Watch moreUpstart socialist Mamdani stuns political veteran Cuo...

The Summer Solstice of June 21 – the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere – also heralds France’s beloved music festival, the Fête de la Musique, which is marking its 44th year.  Amid the heat, streets, bars, restaurants, gardens, museums and even libraries across France will host thousands of concerts for one night only. From classical to techno to jazz and rap, the line-up features a mix of renowned artists and bands, including La Femme, Romain Pissenem, Major Lazer Sound System,...

Housewives, oil workers, miners, motel maids and prisoners are among the protagonists of a retrospective that celebrates 40 years of the late Richard Avedon’s iconic exhibit “In the American West”, now on view at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris. Between 1979 and 1984, Avedon took black-and-white pictures of working-class Westerners posing against a stark-white, unchanging backdrop to create powerful portraits that challenged the myth of the cowboy. Shown in Europe for the first time, th...

The short peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on Monday lasted about an hour and ended with the announcement of a new exchange of prisoners and the return of the bodies of soldiers who died at the front.However, Moscow did release the memorandum that Russian diplomats had been discussing for several weeks. This document publicly sets out Russia's conditions for ending its military offensive and provides an insight into the Kremlin's war aims as its "special operatio...