Easter is here, and so are egg hunts! As every year, the Ferme de Maisons-Alfort hosts an egg hunt where families are invited to search for dummy eggs hidden by the farmers with each child able to exchange five eggs for a bag of chocolate animals The egg hunt has become a popular tradition with Maisons-Alfort families Children will have to find dummy eggs hidden by the farmers a bag of chocolate animals will be offered It is recommended to buy pre-reservation tickets during the Farm's opening hours to reduce waiting times on the day of the event The event is open to all, although Maisons-Alfort residents benefit from reduced rates Maisons-Alfort residents (upon presentation of proof of address with photo) : These prices include access to the Farm and the egg hunt Easter 2025 is full of surprises for the whole family This page may contain AI-assisted elements, more information here Refer your establishment, click herePromote your event, click here incorporated in England and Wales (company number 15236213) having its registered office at 4 Bouverie Street The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers You have reached the limit for gifting for this month Olympic Membership - Free Live Stream Sports & Original Series - join now! đŸ„‡ the Olympic Torch Relay returns to the Parisian region this Friday During these few days of celebration around the capital One thing's for sure: there'll be something for everyone View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paris2024 (@paris2024) The Relay will pass through 12 towns across the department where the festivities will be in full swing Throughout the 15 towns and cities it will pass through the Relay will travel through an atmosphere that promises to be one to remember with a departure from Orly airport at 8am and a finale in CrĂ©teil as the highlight of the day A paradise for runners for its exceptional setting it's also the place to go for a family stroll Connected by two bridges to the rest of the city,Île Charentonneau is uninhabited. Less than a kilometer long, it's a great place to admire the autumn colors as the days grow shorter to gather with the family in this floating park or to go for a bucolic jog with a 360° view of the banks of the Marne The island is open and accessible every day all the time: to get there by public transport you can take metro line 8 (Maisons-Alfort Stade stop then a 15-minute walk) or the RER D towards Melun (Maisons-Alfort Alfortville stop Reporting by Michel Rose; Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta Benoit Van Overstraeten and Kate Entringer; Editing by Alison Williams Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved The study used 12 healthy trotting horses and followed them through four months of race training The horses were paired depending on size and weight; one horse trained on a track with hard footing and the other trained on a softer surface.  All of the horses had a battery of diagnostic imaging done before the study and at two and four months into the training 46 lesions were identified and considered clinically relevant meaning they could cause lameness or poor performance Eighteen of the lesions were classified as moderate to severe Fifteen of the 18 moderate to severe lesions were in horses training over the harder track surface The scientists also found lesions on the superficial digital flexor tendons on three of the six horses trained on the harder surface; no SDFT lesions were found on the horses training on the soft track Horses training on the harder track also had more fetlock injuries The scientists concluded that the firmness of the track surface is a risk factor for harness horses in training Working on a hard surface can lead to musculoskeletal injuries.  Read more at EQUUS magazine.  Credit: © Institut Pasteur/Odile Croissant a novel in vitro molecular diagnostics procedure for the detection of high-risk HPV infection and the identification of patients with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) which is a precancerous stage of the cervix HPV RNA-Seq is a unique test that combines the advantages of molecular assays (HPV typing) and cervical cytology (cell phenotyping)," explained lead investigator Marc Eloit and the National Veterinary School of Alfort Cervical cancer screening allows detection and treatment of precancerous lesions before cancer develops screening either focuses on testing for HPV or identifying abnormal cervical cells with cytology molecular diagnostic tests that detect the DNA or RNA of viruses are poor at identifying cancer or precancerous lesions Analysis of cervical cells with the Pap test even when combined with molecular detection of high-risk HPV results in a significant number of unnecessary colposcopies an invasive test by which the physician visually checks for cervical lesions HPV RNA-Seq was used to analyze samples from 55 patients 28 with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and 27 patients with precancerous HSIL HPV RNA-Seq was able to detect and determine the type of HPV infection among a panel of 16 high-risk HPVs with results comparable to a widely used and officially approved HPV DNA molecular diagnostic kit HPV RNA-Seq detected two more HPV-positive patients than the DNA test and also identified more patients with multiple HPV infections The test was found to have a sensitivity (ability to detect the presence of an HPV) of 97.3 percent and negative predictive value (NPV likelihood of not having HPV) of 93.8 percent "Effective cervical cancer screening requires high sensitivity and NPV for high-risk HPV infection since women with a negative HPV test are usually tested again only after several years," noted Prof Cytology is used as a rapid method to triage patients with HPV whereas histology is considered the gold standard for cervical cancer diagnosis is more invasive and requires more time to yield results To determine if the new test has a place in cervical cancer triage the investigators also compared cytology to HPV RNA-Seq and found markers of high-grade cytology with encouraging diagnostic performances of HPV-RNA-Seq as a triage test They also found the positive predictive value (PPV likelihood of having HPV infection) of HPV RNA-Seq vs histology was always greater than the PPV of cytology vs "This observation constitutes a solid argument in favor of a potential added medical value of HPV RNA-Seq compared with cytology," commented Prof Eloit suggests that the use of HPV RNA-Seq in certain patients can help eliminate unnecessary colposcopies He also foresees a time when technology will allow many samples to be run simultaneously lowering the cost to perhaps $10 to $20 per test The test may also be applicable for other HPV-associated cancers such as anal cancer and head and neck cancer HPV RNA-Seq is based on the dual combination of multiplexed reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) RT-PCR is a sensitive way to measure small amounts of RNA the genetic material that reflects the activity of the HPV genes and NGS makes it possible to finely characterize the diversity of the amplified viral sequences This enables detection of up to 16 high-risk or putative high-risk HPV in a sample as well as the presence of precancerous markers 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2019.04.010 are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system Copyright © 2025 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) OBJECTIVE To develop and assess the feasibility and safety of an ultrasound-guided technique to stimulate the first cervical nerve (FCN) at the level of the alar foramen of the atlas of horses ANIMALS 4 equine cadavers and 6 clinically normal Standardbreds the FCN pathway was determined by dissection and any anastomosis between the first and second cervical nerves was identified each of 6 live horses underwent a bilateral ultrasound-guided stimulation of the FCN at the alar foramen 3 times at 3-week intervals the FCN passed through the alar foramen; a communicating branch between the FCN and the accessory nerve and anastomoses between the ventral branches of the FCN and second cervical nerve were identified The anastomoses were located in the upper third of the FCN pathway between the wing of the atlas and the nerve's entry in the omohyoideus muscle Successful ultrasound-guided electrical stimulation was confirmed by twitching of the ipsilateral omohyoideus muscle in all 6 live horses; this finding was observed bilaterally during each of the 3 experimental sessions No complications developed at the site of stimulation CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that ultrasound-guided stimulation of the FCN at the alar foramen appears to be a safe and straightforward procedure in horses The procedure may have potential for use in horses with naturally occurring recurrent laryngeal neuropathy to assess reinnervation after FCN transplantation or nerve-muscle pedicle implantation in the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle Figure 1—Annotated photographic image of the atlas of an equine cadaver The first cervical nerve (FCN) passes through the intervertebral and alar foramina The passage of the corresponding part of the vertebral artery is indicated as it is an anatomic landmark for ultrasonographic examinations The descending branch of the vertebral artery emerges between the intervertebral and alar foramina The left transverse foramen is also shown more caudally Citation: American Journal of Veterinary Research 77, 11; 10.2460/ajvr.77.11.1245 In horses, the first cervical nerve is a purely motor nerve activated during forced inspiration, which makes a proof of successful reinnervation difficult.4,5,11 After surgery, 2 reflex tests can be performed in resting horses to determine whether the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle has been reinnervated.13,17 One test involves stretching the head of the horse as high as possible which should result in a flicker of the left arytenoid cartilage if reinnervation has been successful The other test involves pulling back rapidly on the commissure of the lip junction with a hooked finger or the bit which often results in a sudden abduction of the left arytenoid cartilage if reinnervation has been successful these test results are difficult to interpret because of movements of the endoscope in relation to the larynx during those manipulations and findings are highly dependent on the character of the horse Nerve stimulation with or without ultrasound guidance is used in human and veterinary surgery to locate nerves for perineural anesthesia.18–22 After a reinnervation procedure stimulation of the first cervical nerve with a nerve stimulator should induce abduction of the left arytenoid cartilage if the reinnervation of the ipsilateral cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle has occurred postoperative reinnervation could be verified earlier and the degree of abduction could be quantified via stimulation above the fusion frequency This could reduce the time to resumption of training and the overall duration of convalescence Because the first cervical nerve is reported to exit the alar foramen of the atlas the location of which is close to the skin we hypothesized that this anatomic location would allow easy and safe access to the first cervical nerve for stimulation under ultrasound guidance The purpose of the study reported here was to develop and assess the feasibility and safety of an ultrasound-guided technique to stimulate the ventral branch of the first cervical nerve at the level of the alar foramen of the atlas of clinically normal horses The intent was to determine whether that procedure would lead to a stimulation of the omohyoideus muscle and evaluate any nerve or vascular damage associated with needle insertion and nerve stimulation Four horses were euthanized by means of IV injection of a barbiturate solution for reasons unrelated to the study each head-neck segment was removed at the level of the C4-C6 vertebrae and cooled for 12 to 24 hours An experienced anatomist (CR) supervised the dissections on the left side of each head-neck segment the skin of the neck up to the mandible was removed The wing of the atlas was palpated dorsal to the common tendon of the splenius cervicis and longissimus atlantis muscles and dorsal to the tendon of the longissimus capitis muscle The splenius cervicis muscle was bluntly dissected along the ventral border of the atlas and retracted The underlying semispinalis capitis muscle was bluntly dissected on its ventral border and reflected dorsally to reveal the junction between the cranial and the caudal parts of the oblique muscle of the head The insertion of the obliquus capitis caudalis muscle on the wing of the atlas was cut Nerve and vascular structures passing through the alar foramen were dissected. The vertebral artery was identified just cranial to the nerve in the groove. The descending branch emerging dorsally from the artery just after its passage through the alar foramen, which supplies the overlying muscles, was also visualized (Figure 1) The vein originating from the muscles of the dorsal aspect of the wing of the atlas and passing through the alar foramen was dissected as well the ventral branch of the first cervical nerve was dissected in the atlantal fossa to identify the first and second cervical nerve anastomosis The parotid gland was carefully retracted with blunt dissection The first cervical nerve was identified at its entry into the omohyoideus muscle and dissected along its entire length up to the atlas Any branches anastomosing with other nerves were preserved; the corresponding nerve was identified and noted the probe was moved slightly caudally to visualize the hyperechoic first cervical nerve as it crossed the groove and entered the alar foramen Figure 2—Photograph (A) and ultrasonographic images (B and C) of the atlas of an equine cadaver and a live horse A—The position of the ultrasound probe over the alar foramen from which the ultrasonographic images were obtained is illustrated B—Characteristic ultrasonographic image of the intervertebral (medial) and alar (lateral) foramina in a live horse C—Characteristic ultrasonographic image of the transverse foramen in a live horse the scale markings denote 0.5-cm intervals If no response of the omohyoideus muscle or the sternohyoideus and sternothyroideus muscles was palpable the current intensity was increased slowly in 0.02-mA increments Once the response of the muscles was palpable the resulting current intensity was designated as the threshold current intensity If the current intensity reached 1 mA without palpable and visible muscle contraction the procedure was repeated for the contralateral alar foramen Time from the placement of the ultrasound probe to the successful stimulation of the omohyoideus muscle and sternohyoideus as well as the number of attempts on each side was recorded The contact of the needle with a vessel during the placement was documented The reaction of each horse to the stimulation procedures was noted ultrasonographic examinations of both alar foramina were obtained 24 hours after the stimulation experiment to assess the site of stimulation and detect hematoma formation The horse was evaluated clinically (assessments of rectal temperature and appetite) and the area of the stimulation on the neck was checked for any swelling and signs of pain by a veterinary nurse once daily for 5 days after the stimulation procedures The stimulation protocol and follow-up were repeated twice for all horses at 3-week intervals the head and neck of an 8-year-old Quarter Horse stallion 2 French Warmblood geldings (6 years old and 16 years old) and a 19-year-old Connemara Pony mare were used the first cervical nerve was identified traversing from the intervertebral foramen through the groove to the alar foramen Figure 5—Photograph of a dissected portion of the left side of the neck of an equine cadaver after removal of the parotid gland, the jugular vein, and the accessory nerve (cranial nerve XI). A communicating branch (asterisk) between the ventral branch of the FCN and the ventral branch of the second cervical nerve (SCN) is visible. LC = Longissimus capitis muscle. OH = Omohyoideus muscle. See Figure 1 for remainder of key The 6 experimental horses were Standardbreds (3 mares and 3 geldings Ultrasound-guided stimulation of the first cervical nerve at the alar foramen was successful bilaterally in all 6 horses during all 3 stimulation experiments; data from both sides were combined for each experiment To obtain a response to stimulation of the omohyoideus muscle the mean number of attempts in the first experiment was 1.2 (range the mean number of attempts to achieve omohyoideus muscle response was slightly higher (1.8 [range the mean interval between placement of the ultrasound probe and successful omohyoideus muscle response to stimulation was 85 seconds (range the interval was longer (173 seconds [range the interval was shortest (60 seconds [range The overall current-intensity threshold for perceptible omohyoideus muscle response to stimulation was 0.22 mA (range All the horses tolerated the nerve stimulation well the insertion through the skin of the needle led to a defensive reaction of the horse another dose of butorphanol tartrate (0.005 mg/kg A nose twitch was not used in any horse at any time and especially in the first series of experiments the stimulation needle was placed too far medially and too close to the intervertebral foramen thereby allowing stimulation of the dorsal branch of the first cervical nerve a twitch of the upper neck muscles was observed and the horses had signs of slight discomfort and the needle was replaced more laterally At 24 hours after any of the stimulation experiments no hematoma formation at the alar foramen was detected ultrasonographically None of the horses developed clinical infection at the site of stimulation a superficial skin vessel on the left side was punctured during the second experiment and again during the third experiment this puncture resulted in development of a small (approx 5 × 5 × 3-cm) superficial hematoma which did not prevent the successful ultrasonographic visualization of the first cervical nerve and its subsequent stimulation the swelling disappeared without any treatment within 72 hours after the stimulation a deformation of the alar foramen on the left side was identified The first cervical nerve could still be located but the image of the alar foramen was not typical; the surface of the wing of the atlas was irregular and head-neck trauma at some time in the past was suspected The routine use of perineural anesthesia during orthopedic examinations in horses supports this finding digital palmar nerves) can be traumatized by the needle Perineural anesthesia is a widely accepted procedure no published report of neurologic injury following such diagnostic testing in horses Results of the present study indicated that ultrasound-guided electrical stimulation of the first cervical nerve is a safe procedure and could be used to evaluate reinnervation after a first cervical nerve transplant or nerve-muscle pedicle implantation in the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle Even if the needle is not placed directly on the nerve but in the perineural tissue stimulation with higher amplitude (0.5 to 1 mA) can still activate the nerve our opinion is that actual penetration of the nerve is unnecessary histologic examination of the stimulated part of the first cervical nerve might have revealed more information regarding whether the nerve was harmed during stimulation It would be reassuring to know that no damage occurred to the transplanted nerve when the stimulation procedure was used to confirm the reinnervation of the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle this would have required euthanasia of the experimental horses We observed the 6 horses for 3 months to ensure that no visible atrophy of the omohyoideus muscle developed Because contact of the needle with the nerve can be avoided with accurate ultrasound guidance and with higher stimulation amplitude nerve trauma should be a low risk with this procedure Perineural anesthesia would have confirmed a correct placement of the needle as further stimulation would not lead to omohyoideus muscle contraction This test was not performed because of the close proximity of the alar foramen to the vertebral canal and because the procedure was conducted in standing horses The placement of electromyographic needles in the omohyoideus muscle would have provided information to confirm that the correct muscle was stimulated Owing to the superficial and ventrolateral position of the omohyoideus muscle relative to the larynx muscle contraction was easily palpable and visible On the basis of the results of the present study ultrasound-guided stimulation of the first cervical nerve at the alar foramen appears to be a reliable and straightforward technique and should allow assessment of the functioning of a first or second cervical nerve transplant or nerve-muscle pedicle graft in the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle This procedure could allow more precise determination of time of reinnervation and possibly reduce convalescence time after laryngeal reinnervation for treatment of laryngeal hemiplegia in horses and the Ecole Nationale VĂ©tĂ©rinaire d'Alfort The authors declare that there were no conflicts of interest The authors thank Marie Martin for technical assistance and Tamara Bosshardt for assistance with iconography Sisson and Grossman's anatomy of the domestic animals Anatomie comparĂ©e des mammifĂšres domestiques Illustrated veterinary anatomical nomenclature Tome 7: neurologie II: systĂšme nerveux pĂ©riphĂ©rique Attempts to restore abduction of the paralyzed equine arytenoid cartilage I Treatment of left laryngeal hemiplegia in Standardbreds Part I: physical characteristics of affected animals Risk factors for laryngeal hemiplegia in the horse Attempts to restore abduction of the paralyzed equine arytenoid cartilage Treatment of left laryngeal hemiplegia using a nerve muscle pedicle graft Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 2003; 19:189–208 Vocal cord remobilization in the canine larynx Upper extremity regional anesthesia: essentials of our current understanding Ultrasound-guided approach for axillary brachial plexus Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks of the pelvic limb in dogs A nerve stimulator for peripheral nerve blockade Using the nerve stimulator for peripheral or plexus nerve blocks The sensitivity of motor response to nerve stimulation and paresthesia for nerve localization as evaluated by ultrasound Functional electrical stimulation of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve using a vagus nerve stimulator in a normal horse randomized comparison between ultrasound and nerve stimulation guidance for multiple injection axillary brachial plexus block Nerve puncture and apparent intraneural injection during ultrasound-guided axillary block does not invariably result in neurologic injury Subscribe to newsletters © 2025 American Veterinary Medical Association. All rights reserved. Powered by KGL PubFactory became a hub of education as the Erasmus+ JITA KYOEI 2 (JK2) project in collaboration with the French Judo Federation hosted an impactful training course It brought together experts from the European Judo Union as well as esteemed figures from the French Judo Federation such as FrĂ©dĂ©ric Demontfaucon and other international project partners The training welcomed nearly 50 young judoka and almost 30 coaches across the two days Romania and Portugal engaged in intensive training sessions designed to reinforce the educational values of judo and enhance leadership skills The event also served as a platform for knowledge exchange and skill-building strengthening the participants’ connection to the global judo community The 4th meeting of the Jita Kyoei 2 transnational project in France marked an important milestone for this Erasmus+ project as the first Judo Values Mediator and Trainer Mediator Diplomas were awarded here to a group of young judoka and coaches It was a pleasure to join the team that coordinated this activity with the presence of great EJU champions such as FrĂ©dĂ©ric Demontfaucon highlighting the importance of combining training with a world-class judo event to deepen the participants’ practical and theoretical knowledge Slovenian judo coach and expert coordinator from GIB also shared his reflections on the training; The dojo was well-equipped and we had around 80-90 participants engaged in learning incorporating role-playing and interactive games to instill important lessons Judo is not just about competition; it is about shaping individuals into good people who contribute positively to society Kovac also praised the collaboration among the project’s partners acknowledging their support in helping smaller judo clubs gain valuable experience and resources The time on the mat in Maisons-Alfort was only the beginning of a long weekend of sharing valuable educational elements of judo as the project partners set up a stand at the Accor Arena during the Paris Grand Slam 2025 This provided an incredible opportunity for judoka coaches and thousands of spectators to engage with the fundamental values of judo Hidayat Heydarov and Juliane Robra further underscored the significance of the initiative The success of this training camp and promotional weekend marks a pivotal step forward for the Jita Kyoei 2 project By reinforcing judo’s educational philosophy and nurturing young leaders the initiative continues to pave the way for a more value-driven judo community it aims to expand its outreach and inspire even more judoka as well as the general public to embrace the true essence of the sport: “mutual welfare and benefit” The energy and enthusiasm displayed throughout the event in Maisons-Alfort and at the Paris Grand Slam 2025 confirm that judo is much more than a sport Find out more about this project via the following link Cosmos » Biology Andrew Masterson is a former editor of Cosmos MUSEUM – Le MusĂ©e Fragonard d’Alfort For several decades now German anatomist Gunther von Hagens has enjoyed success stripped to the muscle layer and coated in plastic skinned bodies at the precise intersection of ghoulish fascination and scientific interest In 1766 Fragonard was appointed professor of anatomy at the École Nationale VĂ©tĂ©rinaire de Maisons-Alfort and quickly set about creating a bizarre collection of tableaux featuring flayed corpses He created some 700 exhibits before being dismissed from his position in 1771 on suspicion of being insane including an Albrecht Durer-inspired man on horseback surrounded by dancing foetuses; more human foetuses having a dance; and a very dead bloke holding a jawbone in apparent emulation of the biblical figure Samson The creations form some of the displays at the eponymous MusĂ©e Fragonard d’Alfort in the Paris suburb of Maisons-Alfort Other attractions include preserved conjoined twin lambs but the rest of the region is also involved in the ballet of pyrotechnic shows This year, fireworks will be fired from the banks of the Marne on July 14, 2024 at around 10.30pm, organized jointly with the towns of Saint-Maurice and Maisons-Alfort Rendezvous near the Charenton bridge on the Quai Ferdinand Saguet And why not take the opportunity to visit the Val-de-Marne It's no more and no less thanone of the oldest museums in France.. Created in 1766 with theveterinary school that houses it the Fragonard Museum presents 250 years of veterinary medicine archives But be warned: this museum is for a discerning public only Whether you're a fan of Dark Tourism or a veterinary medicine enthusiast this original museum has something to fascinate you you'll discover theanatomy of animals through centuries of study including skeletons and often ancient pathologies and the collections in this unusual museum include malformations such as the two-headed calf and the five-legged sheep One of the rooms is dedicated toFragonard's famous"Ă©corchĂ©s" This is a presentation of the work of HonorĂ© Fragonard the famous French anatomist who gave his name to the museum whose conservation technique made it possible to immortalize human and animal mummies 21 of these exceptional pieces are on display at the museum sensitive souls: you'll need a strong heart In the Val-de-Marne region, in the heart of the town of Maisons-Alfort, the educational farm offers an open-air outing in contact with animals and nature: an opportunity for young and old to (re)discover farm animals during a short stroll Welcome to the Maisons-Alfort farm where you'll be greeted by a host of two-legged donkeys and a whole host offarmyard animals (chickens learn all about their eating habits and way of life a former building from the1889 Universal Exhibition (held in Paris at the time) renovated by the municipal services of Maisons-Alfort The Maisons-Alfort farm regularly offers activities for children with the opportunity to spend a day in the shoes of a farmer during"Apprentice Farmer" activities the traditional egg hunt organized every year or even days when you can watch the sheep being sheared You'll pay €5 per child and €10 per adult to discover this lovely farm and only €2 per adult and €1 per child if you live in Maisons-Alfort (please note that credit cards are not accepted) Why not visit the Maisons-Alfort educational farm this Wednesday or over the weekend “What I can say is that in his last moments on the pitch playing football, he hadn’t lost anything. It was a pleasure to see him touch the ball. At the moment he accelerates, you can see Messi, you can see Neymar a former reserve coach at Paris FC talking about Yann Gueho on a quiet road in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris Anne-Marie Gueho sighs as she looks up from the dining table where we have been talking for the past two hours You have to do something with it,’” she says There is a mixture of sadness and frustration in her voice the third of her six children and a boy — now a man — who signed for Chelsea as a teenager and had the potential to become one of the best footballers in the world.  “When we talk with other coaches about this or that player ‘He can become a pro’,” explains Marc Leclerc the Ligue 2 club where he played before joining Chelsea ‘At what age will he win the Ballon d’Or?’” “Every person that played with Yann thinks he could have won the Ballon d’Or — if he was serious,” adds Khallil Lambin who grew up in the same neighbourhood as Yann and was at Nantes with him “This boy
 it’s the biggest loss in football I’ve ever seen.” Yann Gueho’s story is extraordinary and has taken months to piece together. Trawl the internet and he almost ceases to exist Yet mention his name to those who played with him “I didn’t know him before he joined Nantes,” Valentin Rongier “I’d only heard of him through players at Nantes that came from Paris — they were saying that he is a phenomenon.  he is the player that shocked me the most in terms of talent He could take on absolutely anyone one-versus-one — I had never seen this in my life the Atalanta winger who was at Chelsea at the same time as Yann they will probably tell you that Yann’s the best player who has ever played in Chelsea’s academy the national training centre for the most talented young players in the Ile-de-France region “I can only say that you had to see to understand,” says Dussaut who went on to play for Standard Liege in Belgium.  “Because it’s hard when you say to people that Yann Gueho is a better talent than (Kylian) Mbappe you had to see what talent he had — he could win the game alone.’ He was like a magician.” Yann played the game with breathtaking audacity His party trick was to go past an opponent Rainbow flicks were a regular part of his routine and no game was complete without a nutmeg “Real arrogance bordering on genius,” Adi Viveash “Yann would nutmeg someone and then want to put it back through the other way knock it over someone’s head and then volley it back over their head as they went towards the ball “The ability to really take the mickey out of opponents It was like watching a skateboarder trying different tricks His Chelsea team-mates were mesmerised and even now more than a decade after they last saw or heard from Yann still talk about him with a sense of wide-eyed excitement “I’m grateful that I got to see Yann play every week I can genuinely say that,” adds Alex Davey who played in the same under-15 and under-16 teams as Yann at Chelsea “And I know it sounds weird saying that about a young kid But you’ll never come across anyone like that again be the best player in the world now if he was still playing.” Davey rocks back on his chair and laughs at the absurdity of what Yann could do with a football “I remember we had these MacBooks at Chelsea and you could go and view your clips in the academy building It doesn’t take long to realise there are more than enough tales about Yann Gueho’s football ability to comfortably fill a book another could be written about his problems off the field and that is watching Mbappe and Dembele on television rather than appearing in a France shirt alongside them.  It is a complex and deeply moving story that Anne-Marie tells over the course of several interviews after politely making it clear there is no prospect of talking to Yann There is no easy way to explain what happened to Yann other than to say that he has spent the best part of three years in prison across three separate sentences since leaving Chelsea in 2011 and also been admitted to (and escaped from) a psychiatric hospital Yann has never played a professional football match he hasn’t kicked a ball for seven years and the last hat-trick he scored was in the town of Fleury-Merogis wearing a balaclava and armed with a blade One of his former coaches told The Athletic that Yann had “followed his friend and was in the wrong place at the wrong time” Others say Yann had been mixing with criminals for years and it was a matter of time before he got into serious trouble What is not in dispute is that Yann was involved in the robbery that took place at a perfume store on November 29 He was caught soon afterwards and imprisoned days later His accomplice was never found — and Yann was determined that it stayed that way “He took more months in prison because he didn’t give the name,” Anne-Marie says the news was met with sadness but not surprise Despite being brought up in a stable family home where his five siblings were never in any sort of bother Yann had a magnetic attraction to trouble from a young age Even at football his behaviour could be wild and unpredictable Yann walked off the pitch after nutmegging the same player three times he refused to play unless the coach put him in his favourite position Then there was the time that he showed up by the side of the pitch at Chelsea wearing a pair of pink crocs in particular when he lost his temper — and Yann lost his temper a lot “The fuse was as short as I’ve ever seen in a footballer,” Viveash adds.  and I’m not sure if it was Arsenal or West Ham he was expelled before he completed his first year the brawl that Yann was involved in towards the end of the 2010-11 season was one misdemeanour too many at the end of a long list but their patience ran out three months later after staff became exasperated with his behaviour describes the decision to sack Yann as “heart-breaking” because he always believed that Yann was a “good person” as well as an outstanding footballer.  you saw a player like Ronaldinho,” Bideau says “He could do everything with the ball when he wanted “When we announced the decision to Yann (that he was being sacked) but a last shot at redemption came and went at Paris FC at the end of 2014 Yann looked the part in one respect — people were comparing him to Neymar when they saw what he could do with a ball — but not in another “He spent three months playing with Asics running trainers,” Loup-Diwan who is one of Yann’s three younger brothers and a professional footballer for Paris FC Anne-Marie has a different answer — an answer that explains nothing and everything at the same time “It was a really hard decision to go to Chelsea because it had not been accepted by a lot of people “But we had been given such a warm welcome by the club The message when we arrived was that Yann was like Jesus.” Chelsea were six years into Roman Abramovich’s reign as owner Carlo Ancelotti had just taken over as manager and the club were about to enjoy the most successful season in their history Chelsea were desperate to make a big impression too They had been spending significantly on young players for several years — a recruitment strategy that was initially overseen by Frank Arnesen following his appointment as director of youth and development in 2005 In that respect, Yann was joining a club that was going places — and that came with some perks. Chelsea provided a house in Raynes Park where Anne-Marie and Yann lived with his three younger siblings and agreed to pay school fees for all four children stayed in France with Anne-Marie’s husband who travelled to London every weekend on the Eurostar a long-term arrangement was drawn up by Chelsea “It was a six-year plan on blank paper,” Anne-Marie says Although signing for Chelsea was an incredible opportunity for Yann “People made comments saying we went there for the money the idea of playing with the best players is fantastic it would have been impossible to control Yann.” Controlling Yann was difficult full stop and Yann was also an exceptionally talented tennis player but totally unable to control his emotions Rackets got broken over and again and Anne-Marie has never forgotten how he reacted to his first defeat.  “He vomited after the match and didn’t move,” she says ‘When am I going to play against him again?’ He was five years old at the time.” Although the Guehos love sport — Anne-Marie and Jean-Pierre met playing handball and Tiphany was a talented athlete — football was never really their thing they tried to discourage Yann from playing the game by hiding his trainers So natural that not one of the coaches interviewed by The Athletic for this article took any credit for his ability.  who worked with Yann at Paris FC and has coached internationals at some of the biggest clubs in Europe “A good fairy was bent over his cradle,” he says this boy could have been the equal of the greatest if he was well-surrounded — and I’m talking about football My feeling is that he was a genius — but a misunderstood genius.” In between doing keepie-uppies for so long at Charenton’s training sessions that Godin had to tell him to stop and analysing games on the way home from matches with his coach in a way that an adult normally would He was so disruptive in the classroom that he was seeing a psychologist once a week from the age of nine.  Anne-Marie hoped those sessions might shed some light on Yann’s behaviour she was told after a year that Yann had what was described to her as “middle-child syndrome” — a condition that suggested he was struggling to deal with being neither the eldest nor the youngest sibling That diagnosis still annoys Anne-Marie now Anne-Marie and Jean-Pierre tried to come up with ways to bring Yann back into line the only way for us to punish him was for him not to go to football,” she says ‘Can you please send your child to football?’ That didn’t help him Football provided an escape for Yann and made everything else seem unimportant He was not the sort of boy who grew up idolising players —  Ronaldinho was the only footballer he ever talked about — but on the pitch he seemed to be in his element and liberated in every sense “He was a ‘free’ player,” says El Hadad Himidi the club he joined after Charenton and where the France international Adrien Rabiot started his career ‘Can you come back sometimes?’ He would say was a pleasure — and a pleasure that he has never forgotten “Everybody in France speaks about Kylian Mbappe Yann is better than Kylian Mbappe,” Himidi says Himidi gives an interesting response when asked whether he ever experienced any behavioural problems with Yann I don’t know how we can live with this situation Yann could be manipulative with coaches and enjoyed pushing boundaries safe in the knowledge that he was always the best player in the team he point-blank refused to play as a full-back during his trial to get into Clairefontaine When the coach told Yann that he wouldn’t take part in the game if that was the case Yann played further forward and was outstanding he refused to take his tracksuit bottoms off because the weather was so cold you don’t play in this game,’” Damien Dussaut who was with Yann at Clairefontaine and US Creteil-Lusitanos you can play with them on — because he knew you could win the game with Yann alone on the pitch.’” “I remember one game with Creteil we played against PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.” The teachers at Catherine de Vivonne school in Rambouillet Living away from his parents during the week Yann was often in fights and not interested in learning His behaviour was so bad that he was only allowed to go on school trips if Anne-Marie accompanied him “Clairefontaine were asking for me to come to see them every single week,” Anne-Marie recalls But please make sure he is not making more trouble at the school.’” “I don’t know what happened,” Amadou Diallo who was at Clairefontaine with Yann and now plays in Norway “We had some very good players in our group There are a lot of stories (about why he left) Lille came calling soon afterwards and that proved to be a short-lived experience too Yann struggled to cope off the field — he dragged his mattress into a friend’s room because he didn’t want to sleep alone — and he was a disruptive influence around the club prompting Anne-Marie to consult another psychologist that psychologist told her she had a diagnosis for Yann but because of a reluctance to put children in “boxes” refused to disclose any details other than to prescribe medication — medication that Yann “absolutely did not agree” to take.  who told her that certain behaviours could Yann was living back at home again and enjoying his football at Paris FC where he entertained anyone and everyone who came to watch him Bekhti was coaching Yann at that time and tells a story ‘I’m going to do three nutmegs on him and I’ll stop playing.’ And he did it — and left the pitch “He used to do a ‘virgule en l’air’ every game because he liked doing it,” Bekhti adds alluding to what is like an elastico in the air (a skill that Paul Pogba performed while warming up for France a few years ago) “He was doing a nutmeg ‘aller-retour’ (putting the ball through the player’s legs and then doing it again straight afterwards when the same player turned around) It was really humiliating — but always for the benefit of the team.”  C'est facile @paulpogba pic.twitter.com/XSoluJaumc — Nico (@N1_Coach) June 9, 2021 recalls the regional round of the Under-14 Nike Cup in 2009 so much so that coaches and players from other teams surrounded the pitch to watch him play the French scout who was behind Gael Kakuta’s move to Stamford Bridge knew about Yann for a couple of years and recommended him to Chelsea scored a brilliant goal against West Ham in a game at Cobham and Chelsea decided to sign him there and then he brought me a polo shirt that I still have,” Leclerc says showing a photo on his phone. â€œI was so proud for him when I knew he would sign for Chelsea I said to myself that England would be good for him to leave the country which does not accept him Asked to explain what he means by that comment about France not accepting Yann there are strong personalities in the training centres When there is one that poses more problems than others when we weigh up the problems he can cause and his talent we have to choose to hang on. And then it’s a question of attention At the end of Yann’s first season at Chelsea his parents were sent an academy progress report Yann is described as a “very gifted player” with “superb dribbling skills” and “a match-winner” who can be “too much for the opposition to handle” largely because of his attitude and reluctance to listen The academy report references how Yann’s “strong personality has led to him being challenged by the coaching staff on certain occasions” and that “neglecting his defensive responsibilities leads to animosity amongst team-mates”.  “Some of the things he could do were on another planet to what you normally see from 15 and 16-year-old kids — and that’s a big compliment considering he was at Chelsea,” Adi Viveash “Yann was really strong and had immense power and was one of the first to have the socks down It was enough to get him to put shin pads on to play the game but he only wanted to run when he wanted to run And when I took him off a couple of times
 I do remember that “He came off in one game and everything was getting kicked ‘It might need you to do that.’ He did make you feel a little bit on the back foot you had to be clear and precise how you dealt with him.” “Part of your skill as a coach is to try to read people,” he adds “But you never knew with Yann where you were And I think when I looked into his eyes I certainly felt there was a troubled young person.” Anne-Marie was worried at the outset about Yann’s behaviour being a problem at Chelsea the French scout who accompanied her on her first trip to the club but received assurances that Chelsea were aware of Yann’s character and his history.  Regular sessions with the first-team psychologist were organised by the club There was also a feeling on her part that a fresh start in England would be a form of therapy for Yann He didn’t speak much English and had little interaction with his team-mates as a result “I remember one time we were in the changing room before the match — a small changing room — and everyone was talking,” Alex Davey You’re a young kid at this time and you’re thinking “But then you watched him play and
 there was a game against Norwich at home he did these skills and then he did a rainbow flick over a player’s head He’s someone who always comes up in a conversation Every time someone asks me that question: ‘Who was the best player you’ve played with?’ who spent nearly 10 years at Chelsea before moving onto Reading and now West Brom admits he has lost hours on the internet trying to find footage of Yann He can still remember watching Yann for the first time seeing him glide past three or four players in a pair of bright red boots at Cobham “He used to always get the ball from a corner even though we hadn’t practised short corners or had no intention of playing the ball short,” Swift adds “He would basically demand the ball and then go one-versus-one against whichever defender came out and he would do a crazy trick to get past them or he would flick it over their head and get it the other side I’ve never seen anything like it in my life “There was a story when Yann went over with the first team and trained bearing in mind he was only 14 or 15 years old at the time but I just remember people saying that he basically took the piss out of first-team players nutmegging them in a mini game and everyone was a bit like He’s 15 years old and he’s embarrassing first-team players.’ (Michael) Ballack was there then and Deco It was a big story going around the training ground at the time.” Ricardo Carvalho was one of Yann’s victims that day and a schoolboy putting the ball through the legs of one of Chelsea’s most experienced central defenders didn’t go down particularly well who was at Chelsea at the same time as Yann but a couple of years younger hasn’t forgotten the scene in a youth game at Cobham one morning walked up to him in the middle of the match and promised to do three nutmegs for him But Yann had other ideas and stayed true to his word.  “I think that game was against Arsenal,” Jeremie says it was like playing street football on a main pitch.” That style of play was entertaining but also provocative and caused issues at Chelsea on a regular basis not least because there was always a feeling that Yann enjoyed making a fool out of others whether that was his team-mates in training or opponents on a matchday “Jeremie (Boga) would beat people but then go past the next one and the next one,” Viveash says “Whereas Yann would wait for them — wait for them to lose their head You’re doing it on a football pitch to get a reaction You take the mickey out of them for a reaction.’ And he would say The problems at school continued in England and there were arguments and fights on a frequent basis at Chelsea’s training ground too A game of table tennis or pool could end with a bat being launched across the room or a cue broken “He had such bad anger issues and everyone knew that But everyone also knew how good he was,” Swift adds remembers Yann arguing with coaches about anything and everything right down to the size of a five-a-side pitch Yann would sometimes pick up the discs on the training pitch and move them around to suit him “If the coach told him he was taking too many touches he would just boot the ball and walk in,” Nditi says “Yann is the best player I’ve ever played with or seen He had the worst attitude you could think of The (Mario) Balotellis
 they’ve got nothing on Yann when it comes to attitude.” There were even problems at the local train station where Yann regularly jumped the ticket barrier and ended up getting involved in a physical confrontation with one of the railway staff one morning The fact that he was wearing Chelsea training kit at the time didn’t make any difference to him “That’s things he would have thought he could get away with and it brought a bit of fun “The players get a ticket pass to get to Cobham What Yann did off the pitch was his persona on the pitch.” Yann’s team-mates wanted him lining up alongside them on a matchday because they knew he could be the difference between them winning or losing Viveash recalls the way that Nathaniel Chalobah who he says was a model professional at the age of 14 would try to convince him that Yann should play even when the club were punishing him for his poor behaviour “Nathaniel really respected Yann’s ability,” Viveash adds And he certainly stood up for Yann at times with me Because when you’ve got someone like that on your team you don’t want him to not be playing on Sunday because he’s been in trouble at school You want him to be playing because he gives you an opportunity to beat the best of the best And that’s what Chelsea were and that’s what Yann was.” Anne-Marie was never in any doubt how Yann was perceived at Chelsea It was there in black and white in the academy reports she received and also conveyed frankly in face-to-face conversations getting up from her chair and pointing high in the air everyone is telling you that you are very good you know that you are going to go to the next stage Don’t be the one that we are talking about in a bad way.’” During an in-house game at Chelsea’s training ground in April 2011 The identity of the other player is unknown but there are suggestions that it was a Russian who was on trial “That was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Viveash adds the lad went past him and he scissor-kicked him The lad responded and the next minute (Yann’s) on top of him.” “I can’t say the name (of the other person involved) But he (Yann) definitely had a fight with a player All the senior coaching team were at the match he was able to show what he’s capable of — the best and the worst.” Anne-Marie is quick to point out that Yann didn’t leave Chelsea because of that fight — it was because of a long list of problems in relation to his conduct it meant that life in England for Anne-Marie and her three youngest children Yann’s actions impacted on others this time and not just himself It is hard to know how much Yann thought about any of that including the sacrifice that Anne-Marie and Jean-Pierre had made by splitting up the family and living apart for two years so that he could chase his dream with Chelsea.  “He would have loved for his parents to be financially OK But he didn’t realise all we’ve done for him,” Anne-Marie says calmly Anne-Marie only has good things to say about the club who was the under-16s physiotherapist at the time and praises the staff for showing an interest in her son that extended well beyond football “They did all that was possible,” she says “I don’t think the academy could have done any more for him “Trying to guide Yann anywhere was a difficult path where he then wasn’t able to come training You always tried to paper over it with the ability But it got to a stage where it outweighed the ability the biggest thing I can say is that when I heard he was in prison Why did Yann wake up on his 17th birthday and decide to walk into a shop in his home town and commit a robbery “Nobody understands that,” she says.  There is a pause before Anne-Marie says anything else She has talked candidly for a long time and answered questions on everything He had no reason to do it,” she adds.  signing for Nantes in the summer of 2011 should have cushioned the fall after Chelsea the three months Yann spent with the Ligue 1 club were a microcosm of everything that had gone before recalls an internal game between the under-19s and the reserves at the training ground much to the annoyance of the coaching staff “The reserves scored and were winning 1-0,” Bideau says and he shot from 35 metres into the top corner “I was there and I remember it very well,” adds Valentin Rongier “Yann was exceptional when he wanted to play he was doing extraordinary stuff with a football Yann had more bad days than good days at Nantes He clashed with a coach who wanted him to be more of a team player fell out with some of his team-mates and caused issues at school “We never had a big problem with Yann,” Bideau says “But every day a little problem: late to training If we were the first club that Yann was in The disappointment in Bideau’s voice is unmistakable as he makes those comments He describes Yann as a “rare footballer” and mentions him in the same breath as Ronaldinho but also believes that he was someone who was “not ready to live in a structure where there are too many rules”.  The regimental world of professional football was always going to be difficult for Yann in that respect One of the traits that Bideau admired most about Yann’s character was the way he held his hand up when he was confronted about his behaviour it’s because of the pitch — never because of them But Yann always said that the problem was him ‘Thank you very much.’ He came to the school Not everybody was trying to help Yann though who was at Nantes with Yann and grew up around the corner from him in Maisons-Alfort paints a stark picture when he talks about their respective childhoods away from football.  “Yann and me lived in a good neighbourhood and Yann was always attracted to that,” Lambin says But Yann would always go there and give them Chelsea shirts Yann saw that as proper love — ‘my guys from the street’ ‘Don’t waste your time with us.’ But they didn’t.” When those comments are read out to Anne-Marie Maybe the company that Yann was keeping away from football goes some way to explaining why “He refused to be with the minors,” Anne-Marie says “He said he wanted to be with adults in prison guys who were terrorists from ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna Prison dismayed Anne-Marie in so many respects It was where Yann started to take drugs that made it “harder to manage him” and an experience that did nothing to discourage him from committing more crime because of the people that he associated with inside taking in clothes and trying to put on a brave face Loup-Diwan briefly lightens the mood when he tells a story about famous French rappers who were in prison at the same time as Yann and later gave interviews about his brother’s football ability ‘In my prison I had the best player I’ve ever seen It is a remark that prompts laughter around the dining table She quickly makes it clear that she strongly disagreed with Yann receiving preferential treatment in prison because of his status as a footballer Normally a prisoner could do sport once a week the prison against external teams,” Anne-Marie adds “Yann was in charge of picking the players that kind of comment is no less surprising than what happened next Yann scored a hat-trick against a fifth-tier French club and was so impressive that the manager of the opposition asked the prison if “they had a solution to get him out Niakate persuaded the judicial system to allow Yann to join the Ligue 1 club SC Bastia who was playing for Bastia’s first team and would later go on to win the World Cup with France Bastia didn’t work out — Yann was playing almost as much tennis as football Yann physically assaulted a man and attacked the police officers who came to arrest him “What I can say is that in his last moments on the pitch playing football It was a pleasure to see him touch the ball Alexandre Monnier is thinking back to Yann’s final attempt to forge a career in professional football Yann had been released from prison towards the end of 2014 and was back at Paris FC not in perfect physical condition but still capable of doing things with a football that left people speechless he is the most talented player I’ve ever seen — I’m 100 per cent sure of that,” Monnier “I saw a lot of the players playing for France now I’ve never seen a player as good as Yann.  “But what is crazy is he could play five minutes perfectly And then the next five minutes you had to use glasses to see him on the pitch because he was walking not interested in the match and looking at the sky.” Yann ended up drifting away — and in more ways than one to live with Anne-Marie’s brother after he was ordered by the courts to leave the Ile-de-France region to try to break his cycle of offending behaviour Yann was back in prison by the end of 2018 following another incident of violence involving local police officers there had been a significant development in relation to his mental health Yann was diagnosed with bipolar disorder — a mental health condition that is characterised by extreme mood swings and changes in energy levels Yann spent three months in a psychiatric hospital “It was hard work for the staff because he was still a fit man and he escaped quite a lot,” Anne-Marie says.  Yann found it hard to accept the diagnosis at first she had her own suspicions a few years before when she looked more deeply into the medication that the psychologist had prescribed back in 2009 (without ever disclosing exactly what the medication was for) and which Yann had steadfastly refused to take his time in prison totally destroyed him,” Anne-Marie adds “because that’s when he started smoking drugs you should not have too many bad or good emotions you have to have good sleep and regular sleep These three elements are vital to be able to live with this condition we would have been able to work around this.” Quite what that would have meant for Yann’s football career is genuinely hard to know All we can say for sure is that there would have been a much greater level of understanding around his behaviour on and off the pitch and more professional help made available at times.  some of Yann’s former team-mates didn’t just see him as a prodigiously talented footballer who couldn’t control his temper That’s not to say they suspected any sort of psychological condition; it was more that they wondered whether Yann needed a coach to connect with him on a deeper emotional level A lot of coaches don’t know this — they don’t know it The relationship between a coach and a player is like a father and son doesn’t feel let down by Yann’s former coaches or clubs when it comes to their treatment of her son She recognises that he was foolish and challenging at times and The fallout from all of that continues to be difficult to manage Anne-Marie talks about Yann being “fragile” big depression with really weird thoughts” — the latter is not something that she wishes to elaborate on Their love and support for Yann is unconditional but there is no escaping the anguish and torment they have all experienced along the way That shines through when Anne-Marie explains that Yann lives a mile away from his parents “He left the family house three to four years ago,” she says “I didn’t want this to be his official address any more because in the past we had two occasions when the police arrived with search warrants I just don’t want to be scared if I hear the police siren it’s really hard to cope with and accept.” There is sadness in Anne-Marie’s eyes and her emotions are stirred again when she listens to some comments from Yann’s first coach who said that his “throat knots” whenever he speaks about the 10-year-old boy who could do things with a football that he had never seen before “I meet Yann sometimes and we chat,” Jean-Francois Godin says The closest Yann gets to a football these days is when he goes to watch Loup-Diwan playing for Paris FC It was difficult at first to go to the stadium but he never misses a home game now and enjoys talking to his brother afterwards about his performance “Yann is really objective in his analysis,” Anne-Marie adds “And Loup-Diwan always listens to what Yann says.” going to Paris FC is a lot easier than turning on the television and watching a game at the highest level – something that Yann and his parents found impossible for a while and we know they were not as good as Yann,” Anne-Marie says “For a long period that was really painful We can watch the French team and not have any regret.” the days of spending time and emotional energy thinking about Yann playing football going through his repertoire of tricks and flicks The only dream that Anne-Marie is pursuing now is happiness “We are a big family and a united family,” she says “We’re helping Yann and all helping each other.” a Chelsea spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on academy matters relating to young players.” (Photos: Yann Gueho/Design: Sam Richardson) If you would like to talk to someone having read this article, please try Samaritans in the UK or US A former professional footballer with Swindon Town, Stuart James went onto spend 15 years working for The Guardian, where he reported on far too many relegation battles to mention, one miraculous Premier League title triumph and a couple of World Cups. He joined The Athletic as a Senior Writer in 2019. Follow Stuart on Twitter @stujames75 and outcome of dogs and cats with ventricular septal defects (VSDs) Procedures—Medical records of dogs and cats with VSDs diagnosed by means of conventional and Doppler echocardiography were reviewed Variables of interest were analyzed for the study population and subgroups according to species and clinical status solitary defects) in 53 of 109 (48.6%) patients Most (82/109 [75.2%]) VSDs were membranous or perimembranous Terriers and French Bulldogs were commonly represented canine breeds Most isolated VSDs were subclinical (43/53 [81%]) and had a pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratio < 1 The VSD diameter and VSD-to-aortic diameter ratio were significantly correlated with pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratio in dogs (r = 0.529 and r = 0.689 respectively) and in cats (r = 0.713 and r = 0.829 One dog underwent open surgical repair for an isolated VSD and was excluded from survival analysis Of the remaining animals with isolated VSDs for which data were available (37/52 [71%]) no subclinically affected animals developed signs after initial diagnosis and median age at death from all causes was 12 years Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Most dogs and cats with isolated VSDs had a long survival time; few had clinical signs at diagnosis and none with follow-up developed clinical signs after diagnosis a fourth form of VSD is also described: atrioventricular canal type VSDs (involving the inlet of the right IVS portion immediately beneath the atrioventricular valve apparatus) usually result in a left-to-right shunting across the defect and both the magnitude of the shunting flow and its cardiac consequences are mainly determined by the size of the defect and also pulmonary vascular resistances Ventricular septal defects in dogs and cats have mainly been studied in the context of retrospective reviews of CHDs.12–14,17–22 Data from large populations of animals affected by VSDs are therefore lacking the comparative survival time and prognostic factors predictive of survival in dogs and cats with VSDs remain unknown The aims of the study reported here were to investigate the signalment and clinical and echocardiographic features of dogs and cats with VSDs and to assess the long-term clinical outcome of affected animals including survival rates for animals with isolated VSDs Criteria for selection of cases—Hard copy and electronic medical records for client-owned dogs and cats that underwent conventional (ie M-mode and 2-D) echocardiographic and standard Doppler echocardiographic examination and at the Centre Hospitalier VĂ©tĂ©rinaire des Cordeliers Dogs and cats with isolated or nonisolated VSDs confirmed by color flow Doppler echocardiography were included in the study Animals with equivocal Doppler echocardiography results or for which color flow Doppler mode was not used to confirm a VSD were excluded and body weight were obtained from the medical records echocardiographic findings (including presence and type of concomitant CHD and any outcome data included in the record were also recorded Standard and Doppler echocardiographic examinations—Standard 2-D, M-mode, and Doppler examinations were performed in awake standing animals with continuous ECG monitoring by trained observers using ultrasonography unitsa–e as previously described.23,24 and the largest color flow VSD diameter was then measured Figure 1—Representative color flow Doppler mode echocardiograms used to visualize the VSD and measure the maximal VSD size (ie A—Right parasternal 5-chamber view showing a left-to-right shunt through a moderate perimembranous VSD represented by an aliased turbulent flow accelerating in the left ventricular outflow tract just below the aortic valve into the right ventricle across the defect Measurement of the VSD diameter is shown by the double-headed arrow B—Visualization of a left-to-right shunt through a small supracristal VSD and measurement of the maximal diameter of the defect (double-headed arrow) on the right parasternal short-axis view at the level of the aortic valve Scales on the left side of each image represent distance to the transducer (in cm) Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 247, 2; 10.2460/javma.247.2.166 Classification of VSD—Ventricular septal defects were classified on the basis of echocardiographic findings as isolated (ie, solitary lesions) or nonisolated (with ≄ 1 other CHD present). They were also divided into 4 types according to their localization and anatomic features.3,5,7,33–37 Type 1 VSDs were supracristal type 2 VSDs were membranous or perimembranous and type 3 and 4 VSDs were atrioventricular canal type and muscular VSDs animals were classified as either clinically or subclinically affected (ie with or without clinical signs attributed to VSD Exercise intolerance was defined as a decreased capacity of usual daily exercise as noted by the owners Follow-up—Follow-up was based on a review of the patient's records and was performed for animals with isolated VSDs only Owners of animals for which the outcome could not be found in the database were contacted by telephone or email to determine the current status of their animals: alive (clinically or subclinically affected) or dead (date and cause of death Animals that were subclinically affected at the time of diagnosis were considered as stable (or nondecompensated) if they remained subclinically affected at the time of last follow-up or as decompensated if they had developed ≄ 1 of the clinical signs attributed to VSD Animals for which the outcome could not be obtained were considered lost to follow-up and were consequently censored at the time of their last examination Statistical analysis—Statistical analyses were performed by computer software.f Data were expressed as proportion or median and range and compared among groups by the log rank test Survival curves were determined by the Kaplan-Meier method Variables of interest were compared between groups (species [dog vs cat] and clinical sign [present vs absent] subgroups) by means of a Mann-Whitney test Correlations between VSD diameter or VSD:Ao and echocardiographic variables of interest were assessed by means of the Spearman rank test Values of P ≀ 0.05 were considered significant Dogs and cats with VSD—The study population consisted of 109 animals (56 dogs and 53 cats) with a diagnosis of VSD 88 were evaluated at the Cardiology Unit of Alfort and 21 at the Centre Hospitalier VĂ©tĂ©rinaire des Cordeliers including French Bulldog (8 [14%]); Fox Terrier (4 [7%]); Jack Russell Terrier comprised < 2% of the canine population There were 34 male and 22 female dogs; median age at the time of VSD diagnosis was 9 months (range and median weight was 8 kg (17.6 lb; range Norwegian Forest Cat and Sphynx (3 [6%] each) Less than 2% of the cats were of other breeds and median weight was 3.8 kg (8.4 lb; range VSD types and concomitant CHDs—An isolated VSD was diagnosed in 53 of 109 (48.6%) animals including 26 of 56 (46%) dogs and 27 of 53 (51%) cats tetralogy of Fallot was diagnosed in 20 (36%; 10/30 [33%] dogs and 10/26 [38%] cats) Among patients with tetralogy of Fallot were 1 dog with 4 concomitant CHDs (aortic stenosis and an abnormal right coronary artery) and 2 cats with 2 concomitant CHDs each (1 with mitral valve dysplasia and ASD and 1 with mitral and tricuspid valve dysplasia) Other cases of VSD with pulmonic stenosis included 5 of 56 (9%) dogs 1 of which also had mitral valve dysplasia VSD with pulmonic stenosis with and without other CHDs comprised 25 of 56 (45%) VSD associations VSDs were found in various combinations with ≄ 1 of the following conditions: mitral valve dysplasia (7 dogs and 9 cats) tricuspid valve dysplasia (2 dogs and 4 cats) persistent left cranial vena cava (2 dogs and 2 cats) persistent truncus arteriosus (1 dog and 1 cat) Two-dimensional and color flow Doppler mode echocardiography revealed that the most common VSDs in the study population were type 2 (membranous and perimembranous) These were identified in 82 of 109 (75.2%) animals including 40 of 56 dogs (15 and 25 with isolated and nonisolated VSDs respectively) and 42 of 53 cats (22 and 20 with isolated and nonisolated VSDs Type 1 (supracristal) VSDs were the next most common identified in 22 of 109 (20.2%) animals (15 dogs [10 with isolated and 5 with nonisolated VSDs] and 7 cats [4 with isolated and 3 with nonisolated VSDs]) Only 3 animals (1 dog and 2 cats) had type 3 (atrioventricular canal type) VSDs and only 2 (both cats) had type 4 (muscular) VSDs characterized by increased inspiratory effort resulting in sunken flanks when the thorax expands and bulging flanks when the thorax is depressed (2 cats and exercise intolerance was reported for 2 dogs Congestive heart failure (evidenced by pulmonary edema or pleural effusion) was detected in 4 of the 10 clinically affected animals (3 cats and 1 dog) Treatment status at the time of diagnosis was known for all 53 animals with isolated VSDs: 44 (83% [21 dogs and 23 cats]) were untreated and 9 (17% [5 dogs and 4 cats]) were receiving ≄ 1 of the following drugs: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (eg or ramipril; 6/53 [11%]; 4 dogs and 2 cats) spironolactone (4/53 [8%]; 3 dogs and 1 cat) Conventional and standard Doppler echocardiographic findings at diagnosis—Some quantitative data were not available for all animals were available for 46 of 53 (87%) animals (21 dogs and 25 cats) with a diagnosis of isolated VSD The VSD:Ao was calculated for 42 of the 53 animals (79%; 20 dogs and 22 cats); median values were 0.23 (range Direction and velocity of the shunt—The direction of the shunt assessed by means of combined color flow and continuous-wave Doppler modes was left-to-right for 51 of 53 (96%) animals with isolated VSD and right-to-left (consistent with an Eisenmenger complex) for the remaining 2 (4%) The 2 patients with right-to-left shunt were a dog with a VSD diameter of 7.4 mm and VSD:Ao of 0.45 and a kitten with a VSD diameter of 7.8 mm and VSD:Ao of 1.30 calculated in the continuous-wave Doppler mode for left-to-right shunts Median maximum flow velocity was 5.13 m/s (range 0.57 to 6.75 m/s) for all animals (n = 37) Most (28/37 [76%]) patients had maximum flow velocity between 4.8 and 6.75 m/s Qp:Qs—Pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratio was calculated for 32 of 53 (60%) animals with isolated VSDs The Qp:Qs was < 1.5 for 24 of 32 (75%) animals (12 dogs and 12 cats) 1.5 to 2.5 for 6 (19%) animals (3 dogs and 3 cats) and > 2.5 for 2 (6%) animals (both dogs) Aortic regurgitation and aortic cusp prolapse—Aortic regurgitation was present in 19 of 53 (36%) animals (15 dogs and 4 cats) with isolated VSDs and was considered mild for 12 animals (9 dogs and 3 cats) Nine of the 19 animals with aortic regurgitation had type 1 VSDs Aortic cusp prolapse was identified only in dogs with type 1 VSD (n = 3) and was associated with moderate and severe aortic regurgitation in 1 and 2 dogs Figure 2—Correlations of Qp:Qs with VSD diameter and VSD:Ao in 32 of 53 study animals with isolated VSDs for which data were available (A and B) and in subpopulations of dogs (C and D; 17/32) and cats (E and F; 15/32) Associations among echocardiographic variables and clinical signs—Data regarding both VSD diameter and presence or absence of clinical signs were available for 46 of 53 animals with isolated VSDs (10 clinically affected and 36 with subclinical disease) Dogs with clinical signs attributed to VSD (n = 4) had a significantly (P = 0.039) greater VSD diameter (median 4.1 to 12.0 mm) than did subclinically affected dogs (17; median VSD diameter did not differ significantly (P = 0.258) between cats with (n = 6; median 1.0 to 7.5 mm) clinical signs attributed to VSD together with the presence or absence of clinical signs were available for 42 of the 53 animals (8 and 34 clinically and subclinically affected Results were similar to those found for VSD diameter; the VSD:Ao was significantly (P = 0.02) greater in dogs with (n = 4; median 0.23 to 0.57) than in dogs without (16; median 0.08 to 0.45) clinical signs attributed to VSD the VSD:Ao did not differ significantly (P = 0.726) between clinically (n = 4; median 0.19 to 1.3) and subclinically affected (18; median Data regarding Qp:Qs and the presence or absence of clinical signs were available for 32 of the 53 animals (5 clinically affected and 27 subclinically affected) The Qp:Qs was significantly (P = 0.02) greater in clinically affected (median 1.27 to 2.7) than subclinically affected (median The Qp:Qs was also significantly (P = 0.004) greater in dogs with (n = 4; median 1.7 to 2.7) than in dogs without (13; median 0.83 to 1.61) clinical signs attributed to VSD Differences between clinically and subclinically affected cats were not calculated because only 1 cat (Qp:Qs 1.27) was clinically affected (vs 14 subclinically affected cats; median Development of clinical signs and survival time—One dog with an isolated large VSD (12 mm in diameter; Qp:Qs 2.65) underwent a successful surgical closure of the defect (by means of an open beating heart surgical technique with cardiopulmonary bypass) and was therefore excluded from subsequent statistical analyses The dog was reportedly doing well 8 years after VSD closure with no recurrence of the previous clinical signs (exercise intolerance) attributed to VSD before surgery Figure 3—Kaplan-Meier curves depicting age at development of clinical signs related to VSD among all study animals with isolated VSDs (A; n = 52; 75th percentile 9.6 years) and in canine (25; gray line) and feline (27; black line) subpopulations (B) Median age for development of clinical signs among cats was 12 years (75th percentile whereas the number of dogs that developed clinical signs was too small to calculate a value The difference between dogs and cats was not significant (P = 0.912) Death from any cause was reported for 13 of 37 animals (6 dogs and 7 cats) at a median age of 12 years The median age was 12 years for dogs and 12.1 years for cats with no significant (P = 0.979) difference between the 2 groups Cardiac death related to left-sided congestive heart failure was only reported for 3 animals (2 cats at 1.4 and 12.1 years of age and 1 dog at 1.5 years of age); these were among the 8 animals clinically affected at the time of diagnosis for which follow-up data were available cardiac-related death of only 1 cat was considered strictly related to VSD because the dog and the remaining cat had developed severe acquired heart disease at adult age (dilated cardiomyopathy and degenerative mitral valve disease The cat with VSD-related death had a large type 3 VSD (12 mm in diameter; Qp:Qs data unavailable) with a left-to-right shunt at the time of diagnosis Of the remaining 5 animals (2 dogs and 3 cats) that were clinically affected at the time of VSD diagnosis and had follow-up data available the evaluation and diagnosis of VSD were considered recent (occurring 0.9 and 2.4 years before the end of the study) for 4 was made approximately 4 years before the end of the study Medical treatment was ongoing for 3 of these 5 animals (2 dogs and 1 cat with left-to-right shunts) The 2 dogs were receiving benazepril as well as spironolactone and altizide and the cat was receiving benazepril and furosemide The 2 untreated animals included a cat that was 10.8 years old at the end of the study (with a diagnosis of type 1 VSD at 9.6 years of age) and a cat that was 1.7 years old at the end of the study (with a diagnosis of a type 2 VSD [7.8 mm in diameter; Qp:Qs data unavailable] at 9.2 months of age) The older cat had a left-to-right shunt and VSD:Ao of 0.38 and the younger cat had a right-to-left shunt with a VSD:Ao of 1.3 Median time to cardiac-related death in the 2 species subgroups could not be calculated, because of the high proportion of animals with isolated VSDs that did not have death attributable to cardiac disease (Figure 4) Age at development of clinical signs attributed to VSD (P = 0.989) and age at death from all causes (P = 0.366) or from cardiac causes (P = 0.748) were not associated with the presence or absence of aortic regurgitation Figure 4—Kaplan-Meier curves illustrating age at cardiac-related death (ie, percentages of surviving animals according to age) in dogs and cats with a diagnosis of isolated VSD (A; n = 52; 75th percentile, 12.1 years), and in both canine (25) and feline (27; 75th percentile, 12.1 years) subpopulations (B). The difference between canine and feline populations was not significant (P = 0.789). See Figure 3 for key and most of these have been clinical reports or case series describing small numbers of animals The present study provides original data regarding the signalment and standard and Doppler echocardiographic findings for 109 animals with isolated or nonisolated VSDs either identified as an isolated defect or in the context of tetralogy of Fallot This VSD-pulmonic stenosis combination represented 25 of 56 (45%) VSD associations in animals of our study Tetralogy of Fallot was also the most common concomitant CHD in cats accounting for 10 of 26 (38%) VSD associations in this species no VSD was diagnosed concomitantly with pulmonic stenosis as the only other cardiac abnormality in cats the domestic shorthair breed was predominant among cats accounting for < 5% of the 109 diagnosed VSDs Type 4 VSDs were not found in dogs and detected in only 2 of 53 (4%) affected cats In the present study, a median grade 4/6 systolic heart murmur heard best at the right sternal border was detected in all dogs and cats with isolated VSDs. Most (43/53 [81%]) of these animals were subclinically affected at the time of diagnosis, confirming other reports3,16,51 showing that isolated VSD in small animals is mainly an incidental finding suspected by cardiac auscultation when a high-grade right systolic heart murmur is detected and confirmed by conventional and Doppler echocardiographic examination Most (8/10) clinically affected animals with isolated VSD had respiratory signs and many of these had multiple respiratory signs As expected, the dogs with clinical signs attributed to VSD on initial examination in the present study had a significantly greater VSD diameter and VSD:Ao than did those without clinical signs. Bonagura and Herring16 reported a good prognosis for dogs in which the VSD diameter was < 40% of the aortic root size no significant difference in VSD diameter or VSD:Ao was found between clinically and subclinically affected cats in the present study involving a larger number of clinically affected cats especially where small animals are characterized by breeds of different sizes and variable increases in body weight according to growth Our findings indicated that aortic regurgitation is commonly present with VSD in small animals as it was detected in 19 of 53 (36%) animals with isolated VSD with most having mild aortic regurgitation without any aortic cusp prolapse the presence of aortic regurgitation in animals with isolated VSDs was not associated with age at development of clinical signs on the basis of Doppler echocardiographic evaluation aortic regurgitation was considered mild in 9 of 15 dogs and 3 of 4 cats with isolated VSDs After exclusion of 1 dog that had undergone surgical VSD closure Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the survival time of animals with isolated VSDs was high given that median age at death from all causes was 12 years 39 of 52 (75%) animals were subclinically affected at 9.6 years of age and only 3 animals were known to have died of cardiac-related reasons Only 1 of the 3 reported cardiac deaths could be related with any certainty to VSD alone as an acquired heart disease was diagnosed concomitantly with VSD in the 2 remaining cases Our results therefore suggest that most isolated VSDs in dogs and cats are associated with a good long-term prognosis and do not impact either the quality (as assessed by clinical signs) or duration of life our study only included alive animals that were evaluated at our 2 referral centers thus excluding dogs and cats (likely with large VSDs) that died at young ages or without referral which focused on VSDs in > 100 dogs and cats provided data outlining several important characteristics of this CHD Further studies are needed to assess a potential genetic basis of VSD in some specific breeds such as French Bulldogs Measuring the size of ventricular septal defect in hearts with double inlet left ventricle and tricuspid atresia: implications for noninvasive assessment of subaortic stenosis (abstr) Embryologic development: the heart and great vessels Eisenmenger ventricular septal defect: classification Ventricular septal defect: how shall we describe Congenital heart disease in 56109 births: incidence and natural history Population-based evaluation of a suggested anatomic and clinical classification of congenital heart defects based on the International Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code Congenital heart disease: prevalence of cardiovascular disorders A retrospective analysis of congenital cardiac abnormalities (1977–1989) Congenital heart disease in dogs: epidemiologic similarities to man Causes and prevalence of cardiovascular disorders Congenital heart disease: ventricular septal defect Congenital defects of the cardiovascular system of dogs Retrospective study of congenital heart defects in 151 dogs Retrospective review of congenital heart disease in 976 dogs Prevalence of heart disease in symptomatic cats: an overview from 1998 to 2005 Retrospective study of 156 atrial septal defects in dogs and cats (2001–2005) J Vet Med A Physiol Pathol Clin Med 2006; 53: 179–184 Effects of inter- and intra-observer variability on echocardiographic measurements in cats J Vet Med A Physiol Pathol Clin Med 2003; 50: 326–331 Observer dependent variability of quantitative clinical endpoints: the example of canine echocardiography Left atrial to aortic root indices using two-dimensional and M-mode echocardiography in Cavaliers King Charles Spaniel with and without left atrial enlargement Elucidation of the natural history of ventricular septal defects by serial Doppler color flow mapping studies Echocardiographic evaluation of the adult with unoperated congenital heart disease In: The practice of clinical echocardiography Quantification of pulmonary to systemic flow ratio by a Doppler echocardiographic method in the normal dog: repeatability Transcatheter closure of a perimembranous ventricular septal defect in a dog Congenital heart surgery nomenclature and database project: ventricular septal defect Investigation of membranous ventricular septal defect complicated with tricuspid regurgitation in ventricular septal defect occlusion Clarifying the surgical morphology of inlet ventricular septal defects Surgical correction of ventricular septal defect with aortic regurgitation in a dog Ventricular septal defects: a surgical viewpoint Relationship between paradoxical breathing and pleural diseases in dyspneic dogs and cats: 389 cases (2001–2009) Spontaneous resolution of an isolated ventricular septal defect in a dog Percutaneous transcatheter coil embolization of a ventricular septal defect in a dog Ventricular septal defect accompanied by aortic regurgitation in five dogs Gerbode type defect and third degree atrioventricular block in association with bacterial endocarditis in a dog Aortic endocarditis associated with a perforated septal membranous aneurysm in a Boxer dog Diagnosis and surgical repair of partial atrioventricular septal defects in two dogs Transcatheter closure of congenital ventricular septal defects in 3 dogs with a detachable coil Percutaneous occlusion of a muscular ventricular septal defect with an Amplatzer Muscular VSD occluder Echocardiographic diagnosis of congenital membranous ventricular septal aneurysm in the dog and cat Pulmonary atresia and ventricular septal defect with aortopulmonary collaterals in an adult dog Situs invertus to-talis associated with subaortic stenosis Ventricular septal defects in the English Springer Spaniel Kirk's current veterinary therapy XII: small animal practice A single major-gene defect underlying cardiac conotruncal malformations interferes with myocardial growth during embryonic development: studies in the CTD line of Keeshond dogs The right heart in congenital heart disease Pattern of ventricular septal defect and associated complications J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2009; 19: 342–345 Ventricular septal defect and associated complications Ventricular septal defect and aortic valve regurgitation: pathophysiology and indications for surgery Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Pediatr Card Surg Annu 2006; 9: 147–152 New insights and observations in three-dimensional echocardiographic visualization of ventricular septal defects: experimental and clinical studies Atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect Semin Vet Med Surg (Small Anim) 1994; 9: 227–233 Ventricular septal defect with aortic regurgitation Analysis of indications for surgical closure of subarterial ventricular septal defect without associated aortic cusp prolapse and aortic regurgitation Natural history of ventricular septal defect Bacterial endocarditis in patients with aortic stenosis French start-up Guinard Energies has unveiled plans to deploy a hydrokinetic turbine in the river Marne that will power the newly-established centre for environmental protection and preservation of biodiversity Selected at the start of 2021 by the Municipality of Maisons-Alfort Guinard Energies will equip a site on the Marne river to supply power to the ‘Maison de l’Environnement’ – a centre dedicated to the protection of the environment and the preservation of biodiversity The tidal turbine will be positioned directly in an already existing canal without the need for additional civil engineering works The company said it plans to use its P66 hydrokinetic turbine which is rated at 3.5kW and developed specifically for energy extraction from marine and riverine sites “This new commercial installation for the Brest company confirms the interest in hydrokinetic turbines for sites in rivers and fluvial environments” Located in an area subject to strong floods the P66 tidal turbine has been designed to operate fully submerged it is able to meet the demanding characteristics of the site which will allow continued service in all conditions and easy control of the system due to its compactness Commissioning of the P66 turbine is scheduled for winter with the objective to put it into service before the official inauguration of the Maison de l’Environnement the Maison de l’Environnement will also use solar and wind renewable energy sources to meet its power needs Daily news and in-depth stories in your inbox The Pioneers of Offshore Engineering GustoMSC part of NOV’s Marine and Construction business is recognized for providing advanced design & engineering consultancy for mobile offshore units and reliable equipment and technical knowledge into realistic & innovative ideas The performance of new and existing jack-ups you might not notice her; petite and discreet be fooled by appearances because the lady has character and for several decades she has been walking the tatami of the world to share her knowledge and her experience both of elite level environments and of educational judo and development; a subject that is particularly close to her heart We interviewed her to tell us about her life as a judoka Confined at home due to the global pandemic speaking with her is a true invitation to travel as she takes you through incredible adventures Jane started judo when she was a young child That was in another era; no tatami and no teacher either They were learning from books and trying to replicate the techniques but they liked it and so it made sense that they put us I was not licensed to the official federation I was able to do a few competitions and I liked it My first teacher quickly recognised that I had potential We worked a lot on the quality of our techniques." the decision was taken to register Jane with the official federation so that she could get closer to the national team "When I arrived for the first time at a national team training session I was struck by the aggressiveness of the athletes thanks to the judo education I had received I was technically superior and my teacher was also convinced that one day I would be world champion during which the budding champion broadened her technical and tactical arsenal “It was the first time I landed in the US and the first time I left Europe but I do remember that for my family it meant a lot My father was a big fan of Frank Sinatra and being in New York was quite symbolic especially as we were fighting in the very place where Muhammad Ali had become a global star; it was something special They had taken out a loan to make the trip." the young woman was not in the best of condition because I had contracted a virus some time before which had left me with half of my face paralysed We didn't even know if I could compete because I couldn't close one of my eyes It took more than six months to get rid of it If you look carefully at all the pictures from that time It is obvious now that it didn't stop her from winning despite the pressure of being the favourite “Coming in to this first world championship I was already three times European champion but the day before the competition I broke down in tears I really had a lot of pressure on my shoulders I really needed the mat time to pull myself into the action I remember the final and there is something funny about it A certain Takeuchi Yoshinori was training there and I met him again in the final because he was the referee “I scored a waza-ari that I thought was ippon and then I won by immobilisation I should have had my toes hooked into the tatami Becoming a world champion is undoubtedly an extraordinary moment that is difficult to describe and the question often comes up with the new crowned ones: when did you really realise that you are on the top of the world I think I actually only did a relatively short time ago but I was not aware of everything that had happened behind the scenes I was focused on my competition and I was just happy that I won being the champion of the world had relatively limited meaning It is reserved for a very small number of athletes I finally understood long afterwards that it was an achievement and that it marked the beginning of a beautiful future for women's judo and judo in a more global way Thanks to the organisation and our performances From then on there was no going back possible because even if some did not like it the joy of becoming world champion was great although it was also marred by a certain sadness “I felt a big disappointment because my training partner lost but she eventually became world champion 4 years later." Now world champion and a regular atop the European podium I didn’t have the impression that my title really changed the course of my life I moved back to live in the North-West of England I said stop and I made the decision to leave I finally came to settle in France where I started to teach judo To immerse myself in the rich world of French judo was incredible I could give everything I had learned back to the judo family and build my own family as well as my professional and personal life you might think that everything was planned You could get the impression that there was some sort of consistency but above all there was an instinct for survival I was very lucky to meet wonderful people who have given me a lot and who have allowed me to pass through challenges." Jane Bridge can analyse everything she's been through “In societies that are drifting more and more towards unhealthy consumerism I truly believe that judo has an important role to play It forces us to seek for rightness and it encourages us to help each other and brings us back to basics We were pioneers in high-level women's sport but together we can also do so much for communities Beyond the title which is and remains important We have to make sure that the trip is rewarding and enriching This is what we must attach ourselves to in order to pass it on to our children I try to do everything for judo to be well taught This is valid for the judo technique as well as for the human approach Without it everything we do is meaningless." She is proud of her career and measures how much weight her world title gives her “I want to say that my title weighs the most today I have real legitimacy to be able to express myself sometimes people turn to speak only with him ‘SHE is the champion.' I believe that it is not the fault of anyone in particular The lines are moving and once again what we did in 1980 contributes to it When I see women like Lisa Allan at the IJF or Sanda Corac in Croatia If people judge by appearances it's their problem the beliefs powerful and Jane's vision for women's judo today is just as direct “I am very proud to see what women judoka are doing today I can see that there is still a big difference between the best and the others Sometimes I see attacks on the tatami that are not real ones It seems important to me that all the athletes and their coaches understand that they are capable of offering spectacular judo and we have examples of this Jane speaks with the experience of a trailblazer but also that of someone who had the instinct to survive in a world that struggled with the concept of equality and equity She can be proud of a journey that is far from over you are a great judoka and we will continue to follow your lead 2025 / Under the leadership of its newly re-elected president 2025 / The Sierra Leone Judo Association (SLJA) proudly launched .. 2025 / IJF President's message on International Women's Day 2025 / Great Britain’s ‘Female Fighters Festival’ is .. 2025 / Assmaa Niang has been a star in Moroccan judo for over .. Tuesday World Subscribers only In Zurich the leaf blower war or the anti-'woke' backlash World Subscribers only Germany's Friedrich Merz is embracing pragmatism World Subscribers only Trump-Carney meeting: Canada seeks reconciliation World Subscribers only Friedrich Merz bets on two private sector converts to revive the German economy and reform the state World Subscribers only Founder of Sant'Egidio community fears next pope could undo Francis's legacy Opinion Subscribers only 'Russian gas and Europe is an old story that ended badly Economy Subscribers only Europe's steel industry flattened by crisis World Subscribers only How European countries plan to fund defense efforts France Subscribers only Macron announces citizens' convention on school schedules France Subscribers only 21 charged over French prison attacks as investigation narrows in on drug traffickers France Subscribers only French mosque stabber was driven by 'morbid fascination,' prosecutor says France Subscribers only At the trial of Kim Kardashian's robbers Videos World expos: From Paris 1855 to Osaka 2025 Videos How the Trump administration is attacking scientific research in the US Videos Tesla cars set on fire in Las Vegas as calls to boycott Musk's company grow worldwide Videos Can France's nuclear deterrent protect Europe Opinion Subscribers only 'The American dream is dying' Opinion Subscribers only John Bolton: 'The term chaos is commonly used to describe the top of the Defense Department' Opinion Subscribers only 'It is pointless to imagine a significant wave of American academics leaving' Magazine Subscribers only Tracking down the pianos taken from French Jews during the Nazi Occupation Magazine Subscribers only Eve Rodsky the American helping couples balance the mental load Magazine Subscribers only Desecration or more glory Joan Didion's private diaries are revealed Magazine Subscribers only For Jewish cartoonist Joann Sfar 2025."> Pixels Subscribers only Golden Owl solution is revealed but leaves players of 31-year hunt disappointed Pixels Subscribers only Secrets of decades-long Golden Owl treasure hunt to be revealed Lifestyle Inside Chanel's French leather workshops Culture Subscribers only The marvelous bronzes of Angkor on display at the MusĂ©e Guimet in Paris BMX and rollerblade parks are scattered around the Paris region – perfect locations to practice Espace de Glisse Parisien (EGP 18) EMILIE CHAIX / VILLE DE PARIS Opened in 2008 the Espace de Glisse Parisien (EGP 18) is the capital's largest under-cover skatepark with more than 3,000 square meters of rideable terrain Ideal for the uncertain weather this April The regulars appreciate the concrete bowls as well as the two areas that allow beginners and experienced riders to develop their skills unhindered all in a space that is free of charge and under constant supervision Introductory lessons for skateboarding and rollerblading including equipment hire and protective gear are provided on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons as well as a family slot on Sunday mornings Espace de Glisse Parisien (EGP 18), 54 Boulevard Ney, Paris (18th arrondissement). Schedules vary and can be found here You have 75.85% of this article left to read Lecture du Monde en cours sur un autre appareil Vous pouvez lire Le Monde sur un seul appareil Ă  la fois Ce message s’affichera sur l’autre appareil Parce qu’une autre personne (ou vous) est en train de lire Le Monde avec ce compte sur un autre appareil Vous ne pouvez lire Le Monde que sur un seul appareil Ă  la fois (ordinateur En cliquant sur « Continuer Ă  lire ici » et en vous assurant que vous ĂȘtes la seule personne Ă  consulter Le Monde avec ce compte Que se passera-t-il si vous continuez Ă  lire ici Ce dernier restera connectĂ© avec ce compte Vous pouvez vous connecter avec votre compte sur autant d’appareils que vous le souhaitez mais en les utilisant Ă  des moments diffĂ©rents Nous vous conseillons de modifier votre mot de passe. Votre abonnement n’autorise pas la lecture de cet article Pour plus d’informations, merci de contacter notre service commercial. fashion and food comes to your mind when you think of Paris go beyond the traditional and visit some of the most bizarre and unusual places in the city.The Fragonard MuseumIt is a museum of anatomical oddities located in Maisons-Alfort It is open several days per week in the cooler months A professor of anatomy at the National Veterinary School of Alfort dissected and preserved his subjects for show here; only to be dismissed later on charges of insanity An admission fee is charged.The underground ossuaries in Paris.The Catacombs this one might stink but it's worth a visit Go down into the depths of Paris to visit this underground museum to see how the sewer system works and looking at the maintenance machinery.Only for bravehearts!The Manoir de Paris This will take you to a bizarre interactive experience through famous age-old horror stories Each room you enter presents theatrical shocks and a new setting:The Phantom of the Opera,The Vampires of Paris,The Bloody Baker,The Asylumand more scary stuff.This is creepy The Local Europe ABVĂ€stmannagatan 43113 25 StockholmSweden France's interior ministry has published updated crime statistics across France with data from 2023, and in response, French daily Le Parisien came up with a ranking for the safest towns and cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants across the country The publication based its score for each town on the rates of 10 different crimes listed by France's interior ministry which were split into four sub-sections: home burglaries as well as a score for what it referred to as "the living environment" (drug trafficking and usage as well as 'deliberate property destruction and damage') located in the Manche dĂ©partement in north-western France and it is famous for its CitĂ© de la Mer ("city of the sea") maritime museum the city has seen the number double over the last two years but it still remains well below the national average with approximately three burglaries per 1,000 inhabitants as of 2023 the city of Paris recorded 8.6 burglaries per 1,000 homes and the national average as of 2022 was 5.8 per 1,000 homes the mayor of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin credited their strong results by stating that "there is also a healthy dialogue between the municipal police the national police and the justice system." the French daily ranked Boulogne-Billancourt the wealthy suburbs in the western and southern parts of the Paris region faired well six other locations in the Paris region were also listed in the top 10 safest places The port city is notably where Napoleon Bonaparte was born and it is home to his ancestral home - the Bonaparte house most of the other places that were ranked in the top 10 were towns in the Paris suburbs In 10th place came Cagnes-sur-Mer in the Alpes-Maritimes dĂ©partement in southern France After Cherbourg and Ajaccio it was the only other location outside of the Paris region to make the top 10 Outside of Paris several medium-sized cities - namely Annecy (14th place) in south-eastern France Montauban (15th place)near Toulouse in south-western France and Vannes (18th place) in the western region Brittany - came in the top 20 Le Parisien did not list a single city with more than 200,000 inhabitants in the top 30 - the best was Strasbourg Nice (55th) and Nantes (59th) performed best for large urban areas It is worth noting that crime in large cities tends to look differently from that in rural areas or small and medium-sized cities crime in smaller cities tended to be less related to assault and battery or by violent theft but they were more exposed to home burglaries theft and robbery - both violent and non-violent - were more common but even this metric depended based on the city topped the charts nationally for non-violent theft (ie pickpocketing) while Marseille and Lyon had comparatively high levels of vehicle theft the reported rate varied little based on city-size What is the general crime picture in France Based on the 2023 report by the interior ministry, crime has increased. However, when it comes to global rankings the country still performs better than both the United States and United Kingdom though this is smaller than the nine percent growth seen in 2022 Meanwhile drug trafficking charges increased by four percent which is comparatively smaller than the 14 percent increase in 2022 and 38 percent increase in 2021 Assault and battery went up by seven percent in 2023 and sexual violence reports also increased by eight percent They have also updated the interactive map of the country which can be used by anyone interested in comparing crime rates between different dĂ©partements in France You can access here you can find information based on13 different types of crimes (indicateur) - including home robberies (cambriolage de logement) The map also allows you to select specific areas (communes) as well as the year you want to look at - going back to 2016 Please log in here to leave a comment will finance investment projects of French companies in Iran from 2018 its CEO said in a newspaper interview on Sunday We are the only French bank that can do it without risking US sanctions for a possible breach of remaining embargo rules,” Nicolas Dufourcq told Le Journal du Dimanche The deal Iran struck in 2015 with six major powers lifted many sanctions against the country in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities and paved the way for international business deals But many banks have stayed away for fear of inadvertently breaking remaining US sanctions it is not exposedto possible fines for US sanctions breaches US President Donald Trump has created new uncertainties over the US stance towards the Iran nuclear agreement Trump told reporters this week that he had made a decision on what to do about the agreement but would not say what he had decided Several Franco-Iranian deals were announced during Iran President Hassan Rouhani’s official visit to Paris in January last year These included a joint venture between carmakers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Iran Khodro as well as plans for Iran to buy Airbus aircraft to update its ageing fleet please register for free or log in to your account.