Investigations

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French former MEP Jérôme Rivière convicted of aggravated tax fraud

The former lawmaker was found guilty of having withheld €387,000 from French tax authorities through offshore arrangements in Hong Kong.

Published on September 4, 2025, at 3:31 am (Paris) Abdelhak El Idrissi Anne Michel

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Brief ownership of Malta-based Unibet subsidiary could be costly for gambling giant FDJ

By acquiring Unibet, FDJ United briefly inherited Trannel, a Maltese subsidiary embroiled in major legal disputes in Europe, before urgently selling it off to an opaque entrepreneur. That sale could end up costing France's leading gambling company.

Published on July 29, 2025, at 2:01 pm (Paris) Jérémie Baruch

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Sexual violence scandal in French skiing was ignored for years

Female skiers, all of whom were underage at the time, have broken the silence surrounding the sexual harassment they suffered at the hands of Joël Chenal, an Olympic ski silver medalist who became a coach.

Published on July 22, 2025, at 5:10 pm (Paris), updated on July 24, 2025, at 9:55 am Patricia Oudit

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How North Korea infiltrates its IT experts into Western companies

Developers working under false identities aim to funnel their salaries back to the North Korean state or blackmail their employers. Major companies have been affected, primarily in the United States but, more recently, also in France.

Published on July 15, 2025, at 5:00 am (Paris), updated on July 16, 2025, at 12:56 pm Martin Untersinger

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Billionaire investigated for alleged illegal funding of Le Pen's RN party

Le Monde has learned that investor Pierre-Edouard Stérin was questioned by judicial police in June 2024 for his suspected role in a system of electoral loans to the far-right party in 2020 and 2021.

Published on July 10, 2025, at 5:04 pm (Paris), updated on July 10, 2025, at 5:33 pm Abdelhak El Idrissi Clément Guillou

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Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people's personal data with European police

In the name of combating migrant smugglers, the European Union's border surveillance agency spent years collecting information on migrants and civil society activists deemed 'suspect,' before passing it on to Europol, the EU police cooperation agency.

Published on July 7, 2025, at 3:58 pm (Paris), updated on July 7, 2025, at 4:14 pm Apostolis Fotiadis Lola Hierro Ludek Stavinoha

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European Parliament accuses far-right members of illegally funding nonprofits

For years, far-right parties, including Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National, distributed money to various associations, using funds intended for their parliamentary group's operations. The European Parliament deems the practice illegal.

Published on July 3, 2025, at 4:37 pm (Paris) Jérémie Baruch, Clément Guillou, Anne Michel, Vincent Nouvet and Maxime Vaudano

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Far-right RN and allies face new embezzlement scandal at European Parliament

The now-defunct far-right Identity and Democracy group, which included Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National, misused €4.3 million in operating funds, according to a confidential report revealed by Le Monde and its partners.

Published on July 3, 2025, at 12:58 pm (Paris), updated on July 3, 2025, at 4:44 pm Jérémie Baruch, Clément Guillou, Anne Michel, Vincent Nouvet and Maxime Vaudano

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Former Interpol official wanted by French authorities arrested

Vitalie Pirlog is suspected of using his knowledge of the international agency to have red notices against around 30 fugitives suspended. Wanted under a French arrest warrant, he was arrested in the United Arab Emirates.

Published on June 21, 2025, at 2:30 pm (Paris) Jérémie Baruch Abdelhak El Idrissi

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Russian Wagner group fighters secretly detained and tortured civilians in Mali

Le Monde, Forbidden Stories and media partners investigated arbitrary arrests of Malians committed by Russian mercenaries. We reveal at least six bases where civilians were illegally detained and secretly tortured.

Published on June 12, 2025, at 6:30 pm (Paris), updated on June 16, 2025, at 3:20 pm Thomas Eydoux Benjamin Roger

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French NGO sues arms producer Eurolinks, seeking truth on alleged components delivery to Israel

Following several press reports, the French League for the Defense of Human Rights wants the courts to clarify whether the Marseille-based company is responsible for supplying Israel with parts used to link machine gun bullets.

Published on June 12, 2025, at 11:54 am (Paris) Anne Michel

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EU-Israel scientific collaborations face criticism over potential military use

Israeli companies and universities are involved in hundreds of research projects funded by the European Union. Left-wing politicians and NGOs fear that European money could help enhance Israel's military capabilities.

Published on May 31, 2025, at 5:08 pm (Paris), updated on June 9, 2025, at 3:24 pm Maxime Vaudano

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Glide bombs: Russia's secret to making cheap weapons

Tactics (ep 1). Le Monde takes a look at how bomb optimization techniques are shaping Russia's strategy in Ukraine for the first installment of our 'Tactics' series on the transformation of modern warfare.

Published on May 25, 2025, at 6:17 pm (Paris), updated on June 21, 2025, at 5:22 pm Thomas Eydoux Marceau Bretonnier Sinead McCausland 08:10

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French election authorities scrutinize Jordan Bardella's 2024 European campaign funding

Documents from the National Commission for Campaign Accounts reveal that the far-right candidate borrowed over €4 million from individuals. Some of these loans potentially contravene electoral law.

Published on May 22, 2025, at 2:57 pm (Paris), updated on May 26, 2025, at 11:55 am Abdelhak El Idrissi Anne Michel

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How Russian public fund Pravfond continued to subsidize its allies in Europe despite sanctions

'Dear Compatriots' project (2/2.) Pravfond, a foundation that provides financial assistance to Russian citizens abroad, used intermediaries, foreign accounts and crypto assets to discreetly continue its activities inside the European Union.

Published on May 22, 2025, at 5:00 am (Paris), updated on May 22, 2025, at 5:32 pm OCCRP

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Russian national suspected of creating Ragnar Locker ransomware insists he's innocent

'Dear Compatriots' project (1/2). In partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Le Monde reviewed documents obtained by Danish broadcaster DR concerning the funding of the legal defense of Oleg B., who was placed under conditional release in France.

Published on May 21, 2025, at 7:00 pm (Paris), updated on May 22, 2025, at 5:33 pm Damien Leloup Florian Reynaud

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Banking secrecy: Switzerland clamps down on journalists but uses their revelations

A law in the country prohibits exploiting banking data leaks without any exception for public interest. Yet Swiss authorities have relied on the press to scrutinize the malpractices of banks, as revealed by our new investigation into Reyl.

Published on May 9, 2025, at 1:37 am (Paris), updated on May 9, 2025, at 7:47 am Maxime Vaudano

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Perrier, in a new blow, ordered to remove water filters

French authorities have ordered Nestlé Waters to stop filtering its Perrier and have forbidden the brand from using the description 'natural mineral water.' In a statement, Nestlé says it is 'determined to seek solutions.'

Published on May 8, 2025, at 4:31 am (Paris), updated on May 8, 2025, at 8:07 am Le Monde with AFP

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Le Pen's staff intervened to alter an opinion poll favorable to Bardella

A poll for a hard-right think tank tested Jordan Bardella as presidential candidate, but not his boss, Marine Le Pen – until her loyalists intervened

Published on May 6, 2025, at 12:23 pm (Paris), updated on May 26, 2025, at 11:55 am Clément Guillou

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French prosecutors seize properties of Ukrainian business executive's family

Oleksandr Boguslayev, the son of the former head of a leading Ukrainian aviation company accused of collaborating with Russia, is suspected of laundering millions of euros in real estate on the French Riviera. He was taken into custody and his assets have been seized by French authorities.

Published on May 2, 2025, at 4:30 pm (Paris) Abdelhak El Idrissi

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'Be cruel, have no pity on them': Taganrog prison, a notorious site of Russian torture

In the Russian detention facility, Ukrainian prisoners, whether civilians or military, have been subjected to a range of abuses since the February 2022 invasion, from psychological humiliation to severe physical torture.

Published on April 30, 2025, at 2:01 pm (Paris) Emmanuel Grynszpan

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Viktoria Roshchyna was a Ukrainian journalist behind Russian lines. She didn't come back alive

The young woman, who described herself as an 'information warrior,' died in detention in Russia. Le Monde and its partners from Forbidden Stories traced her journey since her disappearance in the occupied territories in the summer of 2023.

Published on April 29, 2025, at 12:15 pm (Paris), updated on April 29, 2025, at 12:35 pm Rémy Ourdan Poline Tchoubar infographic

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In France, China stops at nothing to silence dissidents

Le Monde, together with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, has investigated China's repression of the regime's opponents overseas. Intimidation, harassment of their families, and false reports to local police are some of the methods China uses to control its diaspora.

Published on April 28, 2025, at 12:45 pm (Paris), updated on April 29, 2025, at 8:42 pm Simon Leplâtre ICIJ

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'Dark Bank': US judge clears extradition of suspect in money laundering case to France

A man suspected of having laundered over €1 billion was arrested in Texas, in August 2024, at the request of French investigators. The final decision to extradite him to France is now in the US Secretary of State's hands.

Published on April 9, 2025, at 2:28 pm (Paris) Abdelhak El Idrissi

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Swiss bank Reyl under investigation for negligence on dirty money

Confidential documents reveal that Reyl has housed politically sensitive figures' wealth without consistent respect for anti-money laundering rules. It is currently under investigation by the Swiss financial regulatory authority.

Published on April 9, 2025, at 10:29 am (Paris) Maxime Vaudano

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Traumatized mothers and absent fathers: The stories behind the babies found in trash

Every year in France, newborn babies are discovered in garbage cans, left there by young mothers overwhelmed by an unwanted pregnancy by irresponsible and sometimes violent fathers. Investigations into the murder or attempted murder of babies are underway throughout the country.

Published on March 26, 2025, at 4:00 am (Paris), updated on March 26, 2025, at 4:08 pm Lorraine de Foucher

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Manor house, gold bars and fascist memorabilia: Jean-Marie Le Pen's murky heritage

The co-founder of the far-right Front National party, who died on January 7, had, in life, become a repulsive figure in his own camp. After his death, many on the far right unreservedly embraced his political legacy. But the man also left behind a mysterious fortune.

Published on March 16, 2025, at 4:14 am (Paris), updated on March 16, 2025, at 11:18 am Olivier Faye

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EU sanctions Promtech, company suspected of supplying Russian army

On Monday, February 24, the European Council unveiled its 16th set of sanctions, targeting a Russian company whose practices were revealed in an investigation by Le Monde last year.

Published on February 25, 2025, at 2:55 pm (Paris) Adrien Sénécat Maxime Vaudano

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Covid-19: How a group of amateur investigators pushed the lab-leak theory

For the past five years, DRASTIC, a group of internet users with no expertise in virology, has been pushing their hypothesis of a research accident in a Chinese laboratory. Once branded as conspiracy theorists, they now have the attention of the World Health Organization and the US government.

Published on February 18, 2025, at 6:00 pm (Paris) William Audureau

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Personal data for sale: The out-of-control industry of data brokers

The geolocated personal data of millions of users is aggregated by data brokers, under dubious conditions. They constitute a threat to personal privacy, reveals an investigation by Le Monde and several international media partners

Published on February 12, 2025, at 8:00 pm (Paris), updated on February 13, 2025, at 9:42 am Adrien Sénécat, Martin Untersinger, Elsa Delmas, Léa Girardot and Anne Morel

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Marine Le Pen's mysterious inheritance as sole legatee of a wealthy supporter

The leader of the far-right Rassemblement National inherited a luxury apartment in the hills above Cannes in early 2024, which she sold for over €1 million.

Published on February 10, 2025, at 5:00 pm (Paris), updated on March 16, 2025, at 11:18 am Olivier Faye

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Why is la Cinémathèque, France's film temple, in turmoil?

In December, the institution sparked indignation among feminists when it refused to hold a debate on the screening of 'Last Tango in Paris.' This latest controversy comes at a time of labor unrest, which has already weakened the Cinémathèque.

Published on February 9, 2025, at 4:00 pm (Paris), updated on March 16, 2025, at 11:19 am Zineb Dryef Djaïd Yamak

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On the trail of Tarik Kerbouci, the elusive French drug baron

Tarik Kerbouci, a French drug kingpin known as 'Bison,' suspected of orchestrating major cocaine shipments, has so far thwarted the law by using his networks, which stretch between France, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria.

Published on February 5, 2025, at 8:30 pm (Paris) Jérémie Baruch Abdelhak El Idrissi Thomas Saintourens

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How Nestlé won favor lobbying top of French state, despite health warnings

Emails and ministerial memos revealed by Le Monde and Radio France show how the French presidency and prime minister's office were involved in authorizing the company to continue selling its bottled water brands like Perrier and Vittel despite using illegal filters.

Published on February 4, 2025, at 5:30 pm (Paris), updated on July 4, 2025, at 10:40 am Stéphane Mandard

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Those affected by pollution demand that Ursula von der Leyen 'ban PFAs now'

Communities and residents of polluted sites have been mobilizing across Europe in recent days in response to revelations by 'Le Monde and its partners concerning the cost of failing to take action against 'forever chemicals.'

Published on February 1, 2025, at 2:30 am (Paris), updated on February 1, 2025, at 2:11 pm Stéphane Horel

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Syria's mass graves reveal Assad regime's industrial-scale repression

Le Monde collected, verified and geolocated dozens of images of mass graves unearthed since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. They reveal the scale of the Syrian regime's killing machine.

Published on January 31, 2025, at 11:20 am (Paris), updated on January 31, 2025, at 11:35 am Liselotte Mas Elsa Delmas infographic

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French rapper Nekfeu accused of violence amid custody dispute, testing 'coercive control' theory in court

The artist's ex-wife was facing trial on Wednesday for failing to comply with a custody arrangement for their child. Citing evidence, she has accused Nekfeu of psychological, physical and sexual violence. He has contested the claims, and has favorable court rulings on his side.

Published on January 29, 2025, at 6:00 pm (Paris), updated on January 29, 2025, at 6:07 pm Lorraine de Foucher Jérôme Lefilliâtre

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Russia delivers armored vehicles to Mali and restructures military presence

Around 100 vehicles, including light tanks and armored vehicles, arrived in Bamako from Guinea on January 17, just as the Russian Defense Ministry intends to speed up the replacement of the Wagner group by Africa Corps in the country. Le Monde traced the convoy.

Published on January 24, 2025, at 5:22 pm (Paris) Benjamin Roger Poline Tchoubar

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Lobbying campaign against PFAS ban highlights opacity of European decision-making

The investigation into 'forever chemicals' carried out by Le Monde and its partners reveals a lack of traceability in the exchanges between public authorities and PFAS manufacturers and users.

Published on January 17, 2025, at 9:00 am (Paris) Stéphane Horel

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When industry manipulates science to prevent a PFAS ban

A scientific article funded by an American lobbying organization for the chemical industry, widely quoted by stakeholders to influence decision-makers, illustrates a wider strategy to create doubt.

Published on January 16, 2025, at 6:01 pm (Paris), updated on January 16, 2025, at 6:02 pm Stéphane Horel

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The plastics lobby's disinformation campaign to defend PFAS

The investigation by Le Monde and its partners highlights that most of the industry's arguments against the banning of fluoropolymers are false, misleading and contradictory to science.

Published on January 16, 2025, at 5:45 am (Paris), updated on January 16, 2025, at 12:01 pm Stéphane Horel

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These apps are tracking users' location without their knowledge

Localized data from popular apps including Candy Crush, Vinted and Grindr appear in a data sample obtained and analyzed by Le Monde and its partners. These data enable the tracking of users' habits and movements.

Published on January 16, 2025, at 4:00 am (Paris) Adrien Sénécat Martin Untersinger Romain Imbach

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PFAS: How the chemical industry is derailing a ban on 'forever chemicals'

Le Monde and its 29 media partners reveal the inner workings of the intense lobbying campaign waged by the sectors using and producing PFAS to block a proposal to ban these ultra-toxic substances in the European Union.

Published on January 15, 2025, at 6:01 pm (Paris) Stéphane Horel

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Excavating soil, changing lake water, no playing outside: PFAS-contaminated Flanders' dystopian disaster

West of Antwerp lies one of the worst hotspots of environmental contamination by 'forever chemicals.' The area has now become a decontamination laboratory for the rest of Europe, at the cost of monumental work and heavy sacrifices for the population.

Published on January 15, 2025, at 5:30 am (Paris), updated on January 15, 2025, at 9:30 am Stéphane Horel Raphaëlle Aubert

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How four French intelligence agents, held for a year in Burkina Faso, were freed

Members of the French DGSE were 'held hostage' for a year in Ouagadougou, accused of espionage by putsch leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré. It took bitter negotiations and the decisive intervention of Morocco to secure their release.

Published on January 14, 2025, at 8:00 pm (Paris), updated on January 15, 2025, at 4:30 am Benjamin Roger

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PFAS: In France, the cost of decontamination is vastly underestimated

According to the estimate calculated by Le Monde and its partners, France would have to spend €12 billion a year on cleaning up PFAS if the smallest of them, TFA, which is widely present in water and not yet regulated, is to be treated.

Published on January 14, 2025, at 6:01 pm (Paris) Raphaëlle Aubert Stéphane Horel

In Depth

PFAS: How Le Monde estimated the cost of decontaminating Europe

To reach the first-ever estimate of how much it would cost to rid Europe's water and soils of 'forever chemicals,' Le Monde and its partners collected thousands of data points and developed a robust and unprecedented methodology.

Published on January 14, 2025, at 8:01 am (Paris), updated on January 14, 2025, at 3:58 pm Raphaëlle Aubert

Explainer

PFAS, a family of 10,000 'forever chemicals' contaminating all of humanity

Per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances are synthetic chemicals that are widely used in our daily lives and in industrial processes. They are highly resistant and almost indestructible in the environment, and their toxicity is increasingly documented.

Published on January 14, 2025, at 7:01 am (Paris), updated on January 14, 2025, at 3:56 pm Raphaëlle Aubert Stéphane Horel

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PFAS: The astronomical cost of depolluting Europe

As Europe begins to realize the scale of its poisoning by these toxic and ultra-resistant chemical substances produced by industry, Le Monde and 29 media partners have, for the first time, calculated the price of decontamination.

Published on January 14, 2025, at 5:55 am (Paris), updated on January 14, 2025, at 4:21 pm Raphaëlle Aubert Stéphane Horel

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The downfall of Dark Bank, the organized crime 'banker' who allegedly helped launder over €1 billion

French authorities have uncovered a vast international cryptocurrency money-laundering network and have requested the extradition of the main suspect, arrested in August in the US.

Published on January 10, 2025, at 6:26 pm (Paris) Abdelhak El Idrissi

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Agence France-Presse, a prime target for the KGB

'Cold War moles' (Part 5/5). Between 1956 and 1982, the Soviet intelligence agency recruited six AFP journalists as agents.

Published on January 8, 2025, at 4:00 am (Paris) Jacques Follorou

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The KGB's last French secrets in Soviet archives

'Cold War moles' (Part 1/5). Le Monde is devoting a series of historical investigations to the well-known but partly unexploited archives handed over in 1992 by an exceptional defector, Vasili Mitrokhin. These reveal the little-known extent of Soviet infiltration of France.

Published on January 3, 2025, at 7:00 pm (Paris) Jacques Follorou

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Syria: Video shows summary execution of Assad regime henchmen

Le Monde has located a video showing the execution of two prisoners accused of being henchmen of the deposed regime. The context suggests that it was filmed as part of the recent conquest of the country by Islamist rebels.

Published on December 13, 2024, at 3:42 pm (Paris), updated on December 13, 2024, at 3:43 pm Liselotte Mas Sébastien Bourdon

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Foreign interference in France: On the trail of influence campaign money, from Israel to Qatar

Investigators are gradually tracing the various financial links that enabled foreign powers to promote their image through French intermediaries.

Published on December 6, 2024, at 9:10 pm (Paris), updated on December 10, 2024, at 11:57 am Rémi Dupré, Abdelhak El Idrissi, Damien Leloup and Florian Reynaud

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Bernard Arnault pulls out all the stops to join prestigious learned society

On December 2, the LVMH boss will run for a seat in the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. He has been preparing to join the body for many years, thanks to strong support and generous assistance.

Published on November 29, 2024, at 11:01 am (Paris), updated on May 26, 2025, at 11:43 am Raphaëlle Bacqué Vanessa Schneider

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Delusions of grandeur and a tragic night: The downfall of former business queen Aude de Thuin

On the morning of June 4, in an apartment on Paris's prestigious Boulevard Haussmann, businessman Hubert Zieseniss was found dead alongside his wife Aude de Thuin, who was alive but with her wrists slashed. The discovery cast a harsh light on the downfall of a flamboyant entrepreneur.

Published on November 25, 2024, at 9:12 pm (Paris), updated on December 30, 2024, at 7:56 pm Ariane Chemin Jérôme Lefilliâtre

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The Bamako school of journalism: A new face of Russia's propaganda strategy in Africa

Since July, African Initiative, a 'news agency' run by Russian intelligence services, has been training 60 Malian students to promote Moscow's interests on the continent.

Published on November 23, 2024, at 3:48 am (Paris), updated on December 10, 2024, at 11:58 am Morgane Le Cam

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Damage to Baltic Sea submarine cables: Why suspicion is focusing on a Chinese vessel

Le Monde has reconstructed the itinerary of the Yi-Peng 3, revealing why this merchant ship, currently immobilized between Sweden and Denmark, is the number one suspect in the damage caused to two submarine cables in the Baltic Sea.

Published on November 21, 2024, at 8:55 pm (Paris), updated on December 10, 2024, at 11:58 am Martin Untersinger, Thomas Eydoux, Liselotte Mas and Anne-Françoise Hivert

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Confessions of a repentant Wagner disinformation agent from the Central African Republic

For eight months, Le Monde and nine international media partners, coordinated by Forbidden Stories, investigated the story of journalist Ephrem Ngonzo and the disinformation strategy implemented by Russia in the Central African Republic and later reproduced in West Africa.

Published on November 21, 2024, at 5:57 am (Paris), updated on December 10, 2024, at 11:58 am Morgane Le Cam

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Who killed Ukraine's Seym River? Investigation into accusations of ecocide

The river flowing northeast of Kyiv, from Russia to Ukraine, suffered severe pollution in the summer of 2024, eliminating all traces of life from its waters. The environmental catastrophe could also have poisoned Ukrainian drinking water networks.

Published on November 5, 2024, at 4:37 pm (Paris) Jacques Follorou

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