Pioneering engineered materials for more than 130 years Michelin is building a world-leading manufacturer of life-changing composites and experiences Michelin puts sustainability at the heart of all its decisions.  Drawing on its deep know-how in engineered materials and polymer composites Michelin is constantly innovating for a more sustainable world.  Access all our financial and non-financial figures Follow all the news about Michelin and its universe.  The decision had become unavoidable given the structural transformation of the Passenger car & Light truck and Truck tire markets and worsening competitiveness of Europe The Group is committed to assisting each affected employee by providing them personalized support The Group will also support the two impacted communities by creating at least as many jobs as were suppressed France is a core and strategic country for the Group Michelin today announced to the 1,254 employees of the CHOLET and VANNES plants its intention to close down production by early 2026 at the latest Both plants have been facing severe economic difficulties for several years Despite the teams’ remarkable engagement and the Group's efforts the viability of the two plants could not be preserved The two sites have been severely impacted by the structural transformation of the Passenger car & Light truck and Truck tire markets and worsening competitiveness of Europe notably due to inflation and rising energy prices This decision has been made as a last resort once all alternative solutions and scenarios have been analyzed and evaluated European markets for Passenger car & Light truck and Truck tires have undergone a profound transformation that has been detrimental to premium segments market share of entry-level Passenger car & Light truck and Truck tires has increased by 9 and 11 points taking away share from the corresponding premium segments which have fallen by 11 and 8 points (Source: Roland Berger: May 2023 for Truck tires and June 2024 for Passenger car & Light truck tires) This situation has led to structural production overcapacity at some of Michelin's Passenger car & Light truck and Truck tire plants in Europe Acutely aware of the consequences of its decision the Group is committing to mobilizing all available resources to individually support the 1,254 affected employees and the two communities impacted by these closures Michelin group will record a provision of approximately 330 million euros in its consolidated financial results for the year 2024.  Acutely aware of the consequences of this decision the Group's priority now is to provide individual support to each of the affected employees to help them build a new future for their career Michelin has made the deliberate decision to halt production at both plants through November 11 to give management and the unions time to propose collective and individual discussions with employees The objective is to set up an employee support system providing immediate assistance following the announcement As part of the employee representative bodies’ consultation and of union negotiations concerning support measures management has set the clear objective that each employee will have a personalized solution All affected employees will benefit from individual support to help them build a new future: Some would be eligible to early retirement Others could choose support for internal transfers for those who may choose to benefit from outplacement measures which should be the case for a large majority of employees: personalized support for employees will be provided by a specialized consultancy guaranteeing a reliable solution for returning to work; along with an in-depth analysis concerning employees' employability: continuing education and personalized training courses To create the best possible conditions to facilitate entry into a new external position: the possibility of ongoing support following the trial period with a new employer compensation for any pay gap of up to €400 gross per month for three years A joint committee to monitor the support plan will be negotiated to enable the unions and management to jointly ensure that the plan is running smoothly for each of the affected employees The approach also factors in the workforce’s strong competencies and the specificities of the CHOLET and VANNES plants with few employees nearing the end of their careers Michelin will mobilize all the expertise of Michelin Development its entity dedicated to generating businesses and jobs to support the revitalization of the CHOLET and VANNES labor markets Michelin Development will analyze opportunities for future manufacturing or service-based operations in collaboration with local officials and local economic development partners These opportunities will be analyzed in light of the local communities’ strategies for development Revitalization actions will aim to develop activities that bear future-oriented jobs for the benefit of the impacted communities mainly in manufacturing and manufacturing-based services Prior revitalization experiences demonstrate that actual job creation exceeds the number of jobs impacted by plant closures over four years 1,054 jobs were created for 706 suppressed jobs over four years more than 635 jobs were created for 613 suppressed jobs with a potential to reach 825 job creations given the revitalization agreement that was signed France is a core and strategic country for Michelin home to its global headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand and to its worldwide R&D center at the Ladoux Campus nearly 3,000 international researchers develop the next technological breakthroughs in composite materials With nearly 2,000 new hires and more than 2,000 apprenticeship and internship opportunities over the past three years Michelin is a leading player in terms of recruiting and apprenticeship Michelin has been actively engaged in modernizing its production sites to orient them on ultra-high value-added activities thus consolidating its production sites in the country Michelin is the only one to have maintained a strong industrial footprint in Western Europe The Michelin Group currently employs nearly 19,000 people in France including 9,000 in manufacturing in 15 production plants Even with the CHOLET and VANNES production close down France will remain the Group’s first industrial country in Europe Ultra-High Performance Passenger car and Mining tires) Accelerating the development of Michelin’s activities in connected solutions for fleet management through new businesses like Watèa by Michelin These non-tire activities are leveraging dynamic markets as varied as construction They represent a significant part of the Group’s revenues and growth over the coming years several first concrete implementations have already occurred: the Group and its partners opened a new gigafactory in Saint Fons the largest hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing site in Europe several hundred new jobs are being created In developing innovative inflatable solutions In producing new bio-sourced adhesive resins that respect both health and the environment Michelin has invested more than €2.6 billion in France of which €1.5 billion to modernize production sites Modernization and digitalization (revamped production lines An ambitious environmental policy (plants’ decarbonation Ongoing training and quality of work life (launch of the Talent Campus the Group has engaged with local stakeholders to launch one of the largest revitalization projects in Europe: Parc Cataroux on Michelin’s former Cataroux production site could lead to creating 1,000 new jobs by 2030 specifically in state-of-the-art training for manufacturing crafts and in future biomaterials Michelin’s ambition is to build strong manufacturing in France the company will continue the work toward it This is why Michelin offer the unions to work on creating the conditions to allow its sites and employees in France to better project toward the future The Group is convinced that with the “Michelin France Manufacturing 2030” project through collective and co-constructed work with the unions levers will emerge concerning competency development and career paths the sites’ competitiveness particularly for small ones defining a protection and support floor for employees when activities need to be shifted with a view to help prepare Michelin’s future and that of its employees in France Michelin’s European industrial footprint About Michelin's Cholet plantThe CHOLET plant mainly manufactures 17-inch and smaller Light truck tires These products represent 85% of its operations The plant also has a semi-finished products workshop (mainly rubber compounds) the Light truck segment has contracted significantly in Europe with a major impact on the CHOLET plant’s production volumes which fell from around 4.375 million units in 2019 to around 2.625 million in 2024 handling all of the steps in the manufacturing process Its production is used to manufacture Truck and Passenger car tires in Michelin customer sites located in Spain production volumes at the VANNES plant have been continuously falling notably due to changes in demand from the Group's Truck tire plants in Europe Output has fallen from 41,000 tonnes in 2019 to the 34,000 tonnes forecast for 2024 https://contentcenter.michelin.com:443/portal/shared-board/d5acb55e-8d1d-4797-9c0a-dc70a0ca799d Former Puma Francisco Gorrissen is leading Vannes by example The Argentine captained Vannes to a crucial victory this past weekend Vannes were 29-19 winners at home against Toulon The result sees Vannes now on 35 competition points one behind both Stade Français and Perpignan Vannes’ remaining matches are at home against La Rochelle and Pau and away against Bayonne and Bordeaux The first goal is to avoid bottom spot; doing so means avoiding automatic relegation to the Pro D2 The second goal is finishing higher than 13th as the 13th placed side needs to beat a Pro D2 side to retain Top 14 status Perpignan and Stade Français are not the only teams in danger this season the sixth placed Clermon are only 13 points ahead of Vannes La Rochelle and Lyon are all tied for 6th spot at present Vannes’ debut season in the Top 14 has been challenging Francisco Gorrissen has been more than heavily involved; in fact Gorrissen has played the most minutes of all players in the Top 14 this season Prior to the previous match against Toulon The match against Toulon was Gorrissen’s 101st appearance for Vannes whom he joined from Super Rugby Americas in 2021 He is far from done as the 30-year-old is under contract with Vannes until 2028 While he continues to fight to avoid relegation he is also putting up his hand for a recall for Los Pumas Tags A crushing 78-18 away win by Los Pampas sees the Buenos Aires side returning to … your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt the Morbihan criminal court will try Joël Le Scouarnec suspected of being France's biggest paedophile criminal for aggravated rape and aggravated sexual violence against 299 victims For these crimes committed over 30 years with complete impunity the 74-year-old former surgeon faces a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment Le Scouarnec has "acknowledged his involvement" in the majority of the rapes and sexual assaults of which he is accused according to Lorient prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger Joël Le Scouarnec had already been given a four-month suspended prison sentence in October 2005 by the Vannes Criminal Court for possession of child pornography images He was then sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in 2020 for rape and sexual abuse of four minors He was finally charged in this second case with rape and sexual assault of more than 300 potential victims which begins on 24 February and has already been labelled "out of the ordinary" is expected to last four months and has required a courtroom specially created for the occasion the city is making available the premises of its former law faculty One of the amphitheatres in the building will be reserved for the civil parties and their families They will be able to follow the proceedings live "This is undoubtedly the biggest paedophile crime case in France or at least the case with the most victims sexually assaulted or raped by a single man And the scale of the ensuing trial is commensurate with the scale of this case" one judicial player commented in the French daily Le Figaro Joël Le Scouarnec will stand trial for 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults aggravated by the fact that he abused his position as a doctor 158 male and 141 female victims were recorded The average age of the victims at the time of the events was 11 the four victims in the first part of the 2020 trial) The trial is expected to cost the Ministry of Justice nearly €3 million in reconfiguration the premises purchasing and installing technical equipment mobilising additional staff and compensating victims' travel expenses An estimated €1.2 million has already been spent several sequences will take place behind closed doors it would be sufficient for a single civil party to request that the trial be closed to the public for it to be granted and for the entire Le Scouarnec trial to take place without the press or the public This trial is also "out of the ordinary" because the victims were not aware of the assaults they had suffered when they were questioned by the gendarmes Many of the victims suffered traumatic amnesia partially or completely erasing their memory of the doctor Throughout the trial, the civil parties will be able to count on the support of the France Victimes 56 association, which will provide a legal expert and a psychologist to accompany them. A legal assistance dog has also been offered to those who will have to testify in court To ensure the peace of mind of the civil parties, who will be facing a large number of journalists, a system of necklaces - green or red - will be put in place to indicate whether or not they wish to be interviewed or filmed Around 300 journalists representing some one hundred media outlets have been accredited for the trial Sixty-five lawyers will be on hand to assist the victims during the hearings which will only take place in the afternoon Aged 66 at the time of his arrest on 2 May 2017 Joël Le Scouarnec was a well-known digestive surgeon in the commune of Jonzac (Charente-Maritime) His career spans 36 years: the day before his arrest The case began with statements made by a six-year-old girl living in Jonzac had exposed himself to her before sexually assaulting her Joël Le Scouarnec had attached dildos to some of them Hard drives containing more than 300,000 documents There were also photomontages made by the surgeon from photographs of children as well as other evidence of sadomasochistic scatophilic and zoophilic activities with his pets the investigators came across what they dubbed the surgeon's "black notebooks" These are handwritten notebooks in which Joël Le Scouarnec wrote child pornography stories over a period of thirty years Joël Le Scouarnec committed his crimes as and when he was on duty He was a contract surgeon and over the course of his career worked in around fifteen hospitals: in Lorient (56) It was at the Sacré-Coeur clinic in Vannes where he worked regularly between 1994 and 2003 He committed his paedocriminal acts against both girls and boys Of the 299 victims identified by the Lorient public prosecutor's office 256 were under 15 at the time of the crime The first two weeks of the trial will be devoted to the defendant's character investigation the progress of the investigation and the testimony of those close to him His ex-wife (who claims she never suspected her husband was a paedophile despite an initial conviction for possession of child pornography in 2005) is expected to take the stand from Tuesday the Morbihan criminal court will follow the chronological order of the sexual assaults committed by Le Scouarnec Some forty civil parties have already exercised their right to be heard in camera the court will hear evidence from a number of former senior hospital and health officials According to confidential documents consulted by French news agency AFP some of them had been informed of the surgeon's first conviction as early as 2006 The doctor remained in practice for a further eleven years continuing to commit acts of alleged sexual violence against the children he operated on After a day devoted to the psychiatric examination of the accused (20 May) the 63 lawyers for the civil parties will give their closing arguments (22-28 May) followed by the closing arguments on 2 June and the defence on 3 June Joël Le Scouarnec will make his final remarks to the court on the same day before deliberations from 4 to 6 June and a verdict the following day Vannes are making a fight of it in their debut French Top 14 season Raphaël Jucobin was there for Rugby World to savour the first-ever top-flight game played in Brittany Flying the flag: a Breton fired up for Vannes' Top 14 debut against the French champions (AFP/Getty) the inland sea in the south of Brittany that lends its name to the département as a whole Vannes is built around a port which serves as the starting point for excursions into the bay The Île aux Moines and the Île d’Arz are the most popular of the 40-odd islands features oyster farms and a castle overlooking the cove But the place to be on match day – especially for the home team’s first top-flight encounter in a 74-year history – is back up the river Marle and within the city walls The town’s old ramparts are an apt place to start a tour of Vannes particularly before the pre-match preparations enter full swing The fortifications capture 2,000 years’ worth of history and then continually reinforced until the 14th century Although partially dismantled under Louis XIV to raise war funds enough of the ramparts’ towers and gates remain to keep tourists occupied (fending off enemies Walk under the arch of the granite Porte Prison tower and you’ll reach the sloping Place des Lices It now hosts a biweekly market where local products include oysters the mediaeval town’s pedestrianised streets wind around the vividly-coloured half timber-framed houses with the gothic Saint-Pierre cathedral nestled in between Boom town: fans of Vannes and Toulouse make some noise on a day with a festive atmosphere (AFP/Getty) Those who would prefer to save their energy for the match can catch the Petit train which meanders its way around the cobbled streets and ticks off the main sights in just over half an hour Ahead of the first-ever Top 14 match to be held in Brittany the bars were already filling up by lunchtime Le Gambetta was decked out in club colours for the day while on the other side of the Place Gambetta – which forms a semi-circle at the far end of the port – staff at the Brasserie l’Océan sported shirts commemorating the team’s promotion to the top flight Further down the eastern flank of the port locals and visitors have also gathered at Café Ferdinand who has followed the club across the country for the past five seasons senses a potential upset against the 23-time French champions He boasts that “the whole of Brittany is behind us even if most of us in the stadium will be Vannetais The waterfront establishments inevitably draw the biggest crowds but it’s at the Bar des Sports where you’ll find many of the old-timers Affectionately referred to as ‘Chez Jeanine’ the pub serves as a more homely but equally bustling alternative to the aforementioned joints and sits a stone’s throw away from the Stade de la Rabine is a stone’s throw from the stadium (RC Vannes) The Jeanine in question has lived in Vannes for 36 years but is originally from Saint-Étienne which would explain the unlikely combination of green football flags and navy blue rugby scarves that adorn the walls she has witnessed the town readily embrace its status as Breton rugby’s standard-bearer over the last decade amid the local football team’s plunge as far down as the seventh division as the first customers begin to arrive with five hours to go until kick-off My ball: Toulouse win a lineout (RC Vannes) As we see an Italian tourist optimistically ask around for last-minute tickets a Montpellier fan who recently settled in the area post up at the bar and catch a few Welsh accents in the background it becomes evident that the RC Vannes phenomenon has spilled over far beyond the city walls Rugby has done more than simply fill the void left by the football team’s demise and last summer’s expeditious season ticket campaign can attest to that more than 50,000 people were in the online queue for one of the 9,000 seats The server-crushing demand has left the rest to fight it out on a weekly basis for the remaining 3,000 spots in the stadium – much to the chagrin of some hitherto regulars Any leftovers on match day (not that there were any for the Toulouse match!) are sold from the small red-brick hut in front of the stadium that serves as the ticket office The timber-framed club shop was taken by storm when it swung its doors open in mid-afternoon with the line for merchandise pouring out onto the street a native of Saint-Brieuc in the north of the peninsula Robert recalls playing for his home town’s rugby team against Vannes back in the late 1960s “We played at a ground where there were no dressing rooms We would wash ourselves in a river pitchside,” he says adding that he used to face the club’s former president he has no qualms over supporting his former rivals and intends to make the trip for every match this season “I’ve seen how rugby has developed in this town; it’s gone from strength to strength and people in the surrounding area love the sport The fervour is the same across the age groups a 21-year-old Breton who has followed the team since the Fédérale One days is one of the fans who would watch the season opener from one of the bars outside La Rabine While he’s pleased to see the club grow and attract fans from further afield he does lament being among those who have been priced out “It’s a shame because we were on the website a whole three hours before the season tickets went on sale Some of us won’t be able to go to all of the games Being able to rally the whole of Brittany behind us is our great strength but it does mean that tickets sell out quickly.” Any advice from Malo for first-timers coming from across the Channel Throw yourself into it – wave the Breton flag and learn (at least some of) the lyrics of the anthem “If we’re getting English people coming to our games it shows that something is starting to happen down here.” The galette-saucisse – a grilled pork sausage wrapped in a buckwheat crêpe – is the popular match-day staple is more commonly associated with the Rennes football team Various crêperies cater to match goers along the rue du Port leading to the stadium although many prefer to pick up a plate of oysters from a stand in the corner of La Rabine instead the thick buttery pastry emblematic of the region a slice of the similarly rich Gâteau Breton or a Palet Breton biscuit The club appears to have no trouble carrying the weight of representing an entire region on its shoulders French fare: seafood at Stade de la Rabine which Wales will visit in the U20 Six Nations (RC Vannes) the flags of Brittany’s nine traditional provinces are paraded down the port and into the stadium parting the sea of Vannes fans lining up for their pre-match galettes and beer Players from all 66 of the region’s rugby clubs were also invited to the match reinforcing the sense that the Bleu et Blanc are the pioneers for the sport’s growing popularity in France’s north-western peninsula Few rugby grounds can boast as grand an entrance as the Rabine’s west stand with fans shuffling across the cobblestones and through the gates of an 18th-century covenant-turned-music school The building directly faces the port and is where most fans congregate ahead of the match although a contingent also waves the home team through a sea of flags at the opposite end of the stadium opt for a more low-key arrival through another one of the entrances Vannes fans mingle with their Toulouse counterparts and reminisce about the promotion play-off win over Grenoble at Ernest-Wallon a few months earlier The only aspect of the evening that would sour the occasion was the absence of long-time head coach Jean-Noël Spitzer – who has been in charge since 2005 – due to a suspension for inadvertently preventing a doping test last season A chapel to the right of the main entrance serves as the conservatory’s auditorium it’s the stadium behind it that becomes the concert hall for a 12,000-strong rousing rendition of Bro Gozh Ma Zadoù – “Old Land of my Fathers” which shares both tune and title with its Welsh and Cornish counterparts has echoed in the stadium before every match since 2016 when the club was first promoted to the second tier Landing craft: Romain Ntamack catches under pressure from Vannes wing Filipo Nakosi (AFP/Getty) The Breton twists on French rugby traditions are ubiquitous Instead of the usual banda – a staple of rugby matches in the south-western heartland and beyond – it’s the Bagad orchestra who provide the soundtrack to matches in Vannes made up of bagpipes (or binioù in the Breton language) accompanies the players on their way out of the tunnel before taking up its position in the stands Joining the Bagad in bringing the noise are the Kerlenn Gwened a group of fans that make up the most vocal section of La Rabine Although less rooted in tradition than the bagpipe band – the group was only formally founded last year – the Kerlenn Gwened is key to keeping the volume high at La Rabine The fanfare only draws to a sudden halt when either one of the teams’ kickers is stepping up – enough of a rarity in French rugby that it was met with gushing praise from the Toulouse delegation after the match. “It’s not like this everywhere, I have a lot of admiration for this crowd,” Thomas Ramos went on to comment The fact that Vannes stands peerless in the Breton rugby landscape free of the esprit-du-clocher-infused local rivalries that characterise the southern clubs may be one reason for the strikingly well-behaved support the sudden silence benefited Ramos more often than their own kicker in Maxime Lafage with the France full-back firing the visitors into a commanding lead by half-time The continental champions predictably pulled away after the break not least when Mako Vunipola went over for the hosts’ first try in the top flight and fellow summer signing Christie van der Merwe scored their second ten minutes later The eventual 43-18 defeat did little to quell the festive atmosphere and the Gwenn-ha-du flags continued to flutter from the stands which left little room for the festivities to continue into the night but fans would otherwise regroup along the port to see out the day even those who made the trip without a ticket having come just to experience the atmosphere of an away day in Brittany “We arrived here yesterday and within three hours we had made friends with a group of local fans It’s a lot like Toulouse in the sense that you can talk to people out on the street about rugby You get the feeling that the Pays du rugby is growing,” explains Nathan Exactly how long French rugby’s newest outpost remains in the top flight remains to be seen but the team’s early results – which include a 23-14 win at heavyweights La Rochelle – promise at the very least a valiant fight to stay up the passionate match-day atmosphere and regional twists on rugby traditions are here to stay and an away trip to Brittany is fast establishing itself as a cornerstone of the French rugby season “We have nothing to be embarrassed about tonight,” one member of the Kerlenn Gwened concludes looking on from the now dimly-lit Place Gambetta we’re champions of France – and we can keep saying that for the rest of the year.” This feature first appeared in the December 2024 issue of Rugby World and is part of a series on must-visit rugby destinations We have given Rugby World a lick of paint, so who better to front a new look than England’s man… Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker © Antoine Mercusot for Chatillon Architectes“Grande Nef de l'Île-des-Vannes represents an outstanding contribution to the architecture of Paris and is a key engineering achievement of its time” “Having the opportunity to dive into this project and bring this astonishing structure back into use for a new generation has been a fantastic process to be a part of'' Partner at Chatillon Architectes added “To work on this project as well as the Grand Palais is a great demonstration of the interests and processes that drive our work as a practice both projects feel very different but our approach remains consistent taking the best of the past and adapting it to not only be preserved but to be enhanced for future users and news uses” The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games served as a catalyst for the enhancement of the l'Île-des-Vannes sports complex the site will be returned to the municipality of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine for athletic and community programming returning the building to its former intended use and reinstating the vision for this bold piece of Parisien architecture You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Edinburgh Rugby make five changes for tomorrow afternoon’s EPCR Challenge Cup clash against RC Vannes at Stade de la Rabine (Saturday 11 January kick-off 1pm GMT/2pm local) – live on epcrugby.tv Edinburgh Rugby are aiming to keep their place at the top of Pool 3 – having picked up a losing bonus-point at Gloucester in Round 1 and a bonus-point victory against Bayonne in Round 2 – with the capital side sitting on six points Centre James Lang makes his first start of the season while Ben Healy gets the nod at stand-off in place of Mosese Tuipulotu and Ross Thompson props Pierre Schoeman and Javan Sebastian both start as Boan Venter and D’arcy Rae rotate to the bench the latter fresh from penning a new two year deal this week Marshall Sykes comes into the engine room alongside Sam Skinner with captain Grant Gilchrist (hand) unavailable for selection through injury Vannes are a different beast at home and they’ll want to put in a strong performance in front of a passionate support “We’re joint top of the log and this is a competition we want to go far in We travel to France with plenty of confidence after our intercity win over Glasgow Warriors and the squad are relishing the opportunity to represent our city and supporters on the European stage.” Wes Goosen continues at full-back with Scotland stars Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe selected on opposite wings Outside centre Matt Currie makes his 50th Edinburgh Rugby appearance alongside Lang in midfield with scrum-half Ali Price selected alongside Healy at half-back Dave Cherry – who made his 100th appearance in last month’s intercity win over Glasgow – packs down alongside Schoeman and Sebastian up front An unchanged back-row sees blindside flanker Jamie Ritchie – named captain for the clash in Vannes – start alongside Luke Crosbie (openside) and Ben Muncaster (number 8) Sign-up for our newsletter today to receive the latest updates Baltazar Amaya has finalized a deal to play in France. The Uruguayan fullback will move from Montevideo to the Hérault department in the Occitanie region where he will play for Béziers. His contract is a two-year-deal for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 seasons Fellow French club Vannes came close to signing the South American in August 2024 A deal was not concluded which saw Amaya returning to Uruguay to play Super Rugby Americas 2025 with Peñarol The 25-year-old competed at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Prior to that he was a stand-out performer for Uruguay at Rugby World Cup 2023. The Uruguayan was a try-scorer against France at Rugby World Cup 2023 The Association sportive de Béziers Hérault (Béziers) are presently competing for promotion from the Pro D2 to the Top 14 The club is in 5th position on 72 points after 27 rounds of the season A top six finish will see the club competing in the play-off’s Amaya will not be the only South American at the club Uncapped Argentine hooker José Luis González plays for Béziers second-rower Manuel Leindekar plays for rivals Oyonnax Additional Uruguayan players in France include front-rowers Diego Arbelo and Germán Kessler who play for Rouen as does the uncapped Arturo Ten Hoever Scrum-half Santiago Arata plays for Castres in the Top 14 The move to Béziers comes with Amaya looking to see Uruguay qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027. He is on track to retain his spot as the starting fullback. Amaya presently has 13 test caps for Uruguay. He made his test debut against Romania in Verona, Italy in 2021 Tags Mexico hosted and defeated Jamaica on Saturday Vannes’ quest to avoid relegation from the Top 14 will take place without Juan Bautista Pedemonte. The Pumas flanker is out for the remainder of the season. He underwent knee surgery in January. The operation was thought to see him sidelined for up to three months; however, it will be for the duration of the season ESPN Argentina report that Pedemonte has also had surgery on a troubled shoulder His recovery time means Vannes will be without him After 16 rounds of the 2024-2025 Top 14 season Vannes are bottom of the table on 24 points Racing 92 are 13th on 27 and Stade Français and 12th on 28 points Tags Price (2) & Van der Merwe with tries for Edinburgh Glasgow had to weather a late storm last night in freezing conditions against Racing 92 while Edinburgh had to scrap a youthful Vannes to leave with maximum points both managed to bag try-scoring bonus points and go into the final round of European pool matches with wins 383Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingEveritt 'glad' Edinburgh could pull throughpublished at 15:01 Greenwich Mean Time 11 January15:01 GMT 11 JanuaryFT: Vannes 25-29 Edinburgh Winning Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt: "It was a tough game but I'm just glad we were able to pull through There was good rugby from both sides so I hope the spectators enjoyed it "The scrums can be frustrating because we do have a good pack of forwards We also know the French clubs have good packs and they take a lot of pride in their set piece but at the end of the day we got our four tries and that's important for the log." 170Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingEdinburgh breathe life into much-maligned attackpublished at 14:56 Greenwich Mean Time 11 January14:56 GMT 11 JanuaryFT: Vannes 25-29 Edinburgh Edinburgh's attacking threat has often been criticised since the departure of Mike Blair as coach There were times when it started to click and two of the first-half tries were excellent examples of how clinical their backline can be Matt Currie and James Lang both acted as the playmakers timing passes to perfection to find the flying Darcy Graham He did it for years at Glasgow so it should be no surprise to see him pop up on that inside shoulder 342Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingFull-time Vannes 25-29 Edinburghpublished at 14:52 Greenwich Mean Time 11 January14:52 GMT 11 JanuaryIt looked like the tide had turned against them but Edinburgh managed to find that all important fourth try through Duhan van der Merwe and then a Ross Thompson penalty that sealed it It's a huge bonus point win on the road - just their second away win in 11 months - that gives their chances of qualification a huge boost They host Georgian side Black Lion next weekend 1383Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 79 mins79 minsVannes 25-29 Edinburgh The referee calls maul as Luke Crosbie and Jamie Ritchie hold up the advancing Vannes forward.. The player of the match is Vannes captain Joe Edwards they have lost possession with 30 seconds left and it looks like it won't be their day 1319Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 78 mins78 minsVannes 25-29 Edinburgh Edinburgh are turned over and Vannes will get one more chance to pierce the visiting defence 2148Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 75 mins75 minsVannes 25-29 Edinburgh Edinburgh immediately concede a scrum penalty of their own and Jean Cotarmanac'h nudges it down to the 22m line They're rampaging forward and getting closer to the Edinburgh line This will require some stoic defending - or some luck 5110Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPenalty Vannes 25-29 EDINBURGHpublished at 71 mins71 minsRoss Thompson It actually looked like Edinburgh were going backwards Thompson is cool and puts it straight down the middle from the tee 1016Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 69 mins69 minsVannes 25-26 Edinburgh Edinburgh are enjoying a decent spell on the edge of Vannes' 22m but the play is held up as Matteo Desjeux has taken a head knock It was actually in a challenge with D'Arcy Rae and it's head-on-head but Rae was bent very low 462Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 67 mins67 minsVannes 25-26 Edinburgh that Duhan van der Merwe's try was Edinburgh's fourth meaning they have secured at least a bonus point Charlie Shiel and Mosese Tuipulotu are on as well 734Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingTry VANNES 25-26 Edinburghpublished at 65 mins65 minsTani Vili He somehow wrestles away from D'Arcy Rae and shrugs off Darcy Graham to score a brilliant solo effort He's celebrating before he's even dotted down the conversion is missed and Edinburgh stay a point ahead 1460Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingConverted try Vannes 20-26 Edinburghpublished at 61 mins61 minsVannes 20-24 Edinburgh Ross Thompson's first act is to put a cross-kick into Duhan van der Merwe's breadbasket and the big man holds off two tackles to dot down 1496Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 60 mins60 minsVannes 20-19 Edinburgh Edinburgh's scrum has been under massive pressure but they've just won a huge scrum penalty against the head 535Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 58 mins58 minsVannes 20-19 Edinburgh Salesi Rayasi is on the rampage for Vannes they're able to turn the ball over and Ben Healy tries an audacious cross-kick in his own 22m who gets all the way to the halfway line before being brought down and knocking on 920Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 53 mins53 minsVannes 20-19 Edinburgh finding James Lang who scurries towards the line - but the referee pulls it back they try a move with Boan Venter feeding Darcy Graham on a switch line and it almost pays off - but the Scotland winger spills 643Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 50 mins50 minsVannes 20-19 Edinburgh D'Arcy Rae is also on for Javan Sebastian The momentum is all with the hosts at the moment 731Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 47 mins47 minsVannes 20-19 Edinburgh Darcy Graham is now down receiving treatment He seems to have jarred his knee awkwardly after landing when he contested a kick 247Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPenalty VANNES 20-19 Edinburghpublished at 46 mins46 minsJules Le Bail Edinburgh concede a penalty at the breakdown on the edge of their of own 22m I think it's Glen Young that is pinged Jules Le Bail opts for the sticks and slots it 946Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 42 mins42 minsVannes 17-19 Edinburgh The good news for Edinburgh fans is that Jamie Ritchie is back on 394Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 40 mins40 minsVannes 17-19 Edinburgh I was looking at the Vannes line-up again and so many of these players have only played once or twice in Europe before Ben Muncaster has walked out in crutches and a moon boot The team from Brittany now joins the French elite This is historic as never before has Vannes played at the highest level in France It means that Vannes officially trade plays with the relegated Oyonnax for the 2024-2025 Top 14 season Getting there was far from easy but has come after investments in the roster and in transforming the club itself. Puma Francisco Gorrissen was part of the road to the Top 14. Gorrissen was signed from Super Rugby Americas to play for Vannes Gorrissen joined Vannes from Argentina in 2021. He captained the Pro D2 side to the play-off’s in 2023 and to the top spot of the Pro D2 during the 2024 season Gorrissen has made history by captaining Vannes to Pro D2 glory He did so while also having his contribution recognized as Gorrissen was named Man of the Match for Vannes in the Final The 29-year-old debuted for Argentina against Australia in the 2021 Rugby Championship. In 2024 he may add to his two test caps Felipe Contepomi will be rotating players in July ahead of the 2024 Rugby Championship The Pro D2 Final saw Gorrissen joined by Juan Bautista Pedemonte in the back-row. Pedemonte is also a former Super Rugby Americas player. He joined Vannes in 2005 Pedemonte will be a possibility for Contepomi’s roster in July The Brittany club is also adding a player from a third South American country. Iñaki Ayarza has been recruited from Charente Ayarza and Vilaseca offer the proposed of a Chilean-Uruguayan mid-field combination Both were starting players for their countries at Rugby World Cup 2023 Vannes will compete in the 2024-2025 Top 14 and the 2024-2025 Challenge Cup In recent seasons the gap between the Pro D2 and Top 14 has decreased This has been demonstrated by the ability of team to adapt and thus avoid relegation Vannes’ top priority will be to compete as such to remain in the competition and not be relegated straight back to the Pro D2 The club’s home venue is the Stade de la Rabine. The team has strong local support. It has a population of 55,000. The largest attendance was 11,865 for Vannes vs Dax in April Vannes recently announced a significant stadium upgrade The new modern facility will have a capacity of 10,000 This is the minimum requirement to compete in the Top 14 Argentine Marcos Moneta won the award for scoring the best Rugby SVNS try during the … Ayarza had also been approached by the 2022 Top 14 champions Vannes has a strong connection to South America. Former Puma flanker Francisco Gorrissen is captain. Argentina XV back-rower Juan Bautista Pedemonte is also at the club while Uruguayan backs Nicolás Freitas and Andrés Vilaseca recently played for Vannes. Ayarza and Vialseca played against each-other in a Rugby World Cup warm-up match in July 2023 Ayarza scored a second-half try in a match won 26-25 by Los Teros Ayarza is a product of the PWCC club in Santiago he moved from Bayonne to Soyaux Angoulême XV Charente in 2021 He helped the team win promotion from the Nationale to the Pro D2 that season Tags Peñarol came out 22-17 winners over Selkman in Santiago del Chile on Saturday Edinburgh Rugby started 2025 with a huge 25-29 bonus-point victory against RC Vannes at Stade de la Rabine this afternoon maintaining the capital side’s hold on EPCR Challenge Cup Pool 3 The win keeps Edinburgh at the top of the pool on 11 points and means any victory against Black Lion at Hive Stadium next weekend will see the capital side progress as group winners and guarantees them a home Round of 16 and Quarter-Final should they continue in the competition Duhan van der Merwe’s 62nd minute score secured all five points for Edinburgh after three tries in the opening half gave Sean Everitt’s side a 17-19 lead Wes Goosen and an Ali Price double had Edinburgh in the ascendance before the hosts battled back in the second period Edinburgh showed guts and determination to close out the match however and Ross Thompson’s late penalty provided the coup de grace for the capital side who were able to build on last month’s impressive intercity with over Glasgow Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “We knew we were coming into a battle playing in front of a Vannes support who are incredibly passionate And we haven’t done well away from home either “I’m really proud we were able to come away with the win and I thought there was some great rugby from both sides Hopefully the spectators have come away feeling entertained after that one we’ve got four tries and big win which keeps us in a good position in the European log.” Edinburgh started the game with brilliant attacking intent and should have been up early had it not been for a misjudged penalty attempt from Ben Healy The capital side did eventually take the lead in the 8th minute however with the impressive Price the architect With the Edinburgh forwards only metres out Price chucked a pinpoint miss-one to Goosen who had the simple task of dotting down [0-5] Vannes hit back with a penalty following a period of ill-discipline however Edinburgh were starting to spot gaps in the Vannes defence and when Matt Currie broke through in the 18th minute it was on the winger was able to find the trailing Price who finished under the sticks [3-12] Vannes continued to battle and hit back once again with a strong finish under the sticks but Edinburgh soon launched another coast to coast attack that ended in Price dotting down a delayed pass saw Darcy Graham break free with the winger offloading to Lang on his shoulder Lang showed great composure to draw and find Price once again who extended Edinburgh’s lead [10-19] Edinburgh lost back-row duo Ritchie [HIA] and Muncaster to injury although Ritchie would return in the second period after passing his assessment That disruption gave Vannes a way back into the game and the hosts were able to power over once again to cut the gap [17-19] With Schoeman held up over the line with the last play of the half it was a two point game going in the second period Vannes hit back with a simple penalty to take the lead 20-19 and it remained that way following a cagey start to the second-half which saw plenty of back and forth That was until Darcy Graham took the game into his own hands taking a cross field kick from Healy and racing 40m before being dragged down That spark of brilliance ignited the match further and after winning a scrum penalty and kicking into the Vannes 22 Edinburgh had the advantage after a first phase attack That led to replacement Thompson – who had only entered the fray – nudging an accurate crossfield kick into the hands of Van der Merwe who finished with aplomb [20-26] Vannes weren’t done yet however and were able to make it a one point game with an easy score against some stretched capital defence [25-26] Edinburgh were determined to win this one however and with a late penalty from Thompson [25-29] and some courageous and disciplined defence that was all she wrote as Sean Everitt’s side start 2025 with the best possible result Home - News - Vannes-Golfe-Du-Morbihan Airport Released for X-Plane VFR Scenery Studio has released Vannes-Golfe-Du-Morbihan Airport for X-Plane and has provided a new trailer showcasing it Vannes-Golfe-Du-Morbihan Airport (LFRV) is a small regional airport located near Vannes It primarily serves the local population and is used for general aviation The airport product will come with animated hangars you will see plenty of detail in the ground textures It is compatible with Ortho4XP and AutoOrtho whilst making sure it is optimised for great frame rates You can get it from the X-Plane.org store for $15.00 for a limited time before it goes back to $19.99. ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article Joël Le Scouarnec, 74, will face hundreds of victims during his four-month trial in Vannes. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, on top of 15 years he has been serving after being found guilty in 2020 of rape and sexual assault of children. His lawyer, Maxime Tessier, told the court that Le Scouarnec accepts responsibility for “a large majority” of the allegations against him. Some survivors have no memory of the assaults, having been unconscious at the time. One man now in his 30s testified that he was assaulted during a consultation in 1995, when he was a young boy. “I remember certain things in the recovery room. I was in total panic. I called my dad,” he told the court. Le Scouarnec’s trial comes as activists are pushing to dismantle taboos that have long surrounded sexual abuse in France. The most prominent case was that of Gisèle Pélicot, who was drugged and raped by her now ex-husband and dozens of other men who were convicted and sentenced in December to prison terms ranging from three to 20 years. The Le Scouarnec case began in 2017, when a 6-year-old neighbor said the doctor had touched her over the fence separating their properties. A subsequent search of his home uncovered more than 300,000 photos, 650 pedophilic, zoophilic and scatological video files, as well as notebooks where he described himself as a pedophile and detailed his actions, according to investigation documents. In 2020, Le Scouarnec was convicted of rape and sexual assault of four children, including two nieces, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He has admitted to child abuse dating to 1985-86, but some cases could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired. The Vannes trial will examine alleged rapes and other abuses committed between 1989 and 2014 against 158 men and 141 women who were aged 11 on average at the time. The doctor sexually abused boys and girls when they were alone in their hospital rooms, according to investigation documents. “I didn’t really remember the operation. I remembered the post-operation, a surgeon who was quite mean,” one of the victims, Amélie Lévêque, recalled of her time in the hospital when she was 9 years old in 1991. “I cried a lot.” Years later, she described feeling overwhelmed when she learned that her name appeared in Le Scouarnec’s notebooks. “That was the beginning of the answers to a lifetime of questions, and then it was the beginning of the descent into hell,” she told public broadcaster France 3. “I felt like I had lost control of everything. I wasn’t crazy, but now I had to face the truth of what had happened.” “I fell into a deep depression.... My family tried to help, but I felt completely alone.” The Associated Press does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified or decide to tell their stories publicly. Le Scouarnec had already been convicted in 2005 for possessing and importing child sexual abuse material and sentenced to four months of suspended prison time. Despite that conviction, he was appointed as a hospital practitioner the following year. Some child protection groups joined the proceedings as civil parties, saying they hope to toughen the legal framework to prevent such abuse. Deley and Vaux-Montagny write for the Associated Press. Vaux-Montagny reported from Lyon, France. Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, contributed to this report. World & Nation Hollywood Inc. Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map The hosts are pinged for playing Shiel at the scrum and that’ll do it!! it’s a maul and it’s our put in at the scrum Thompson is back to clean up and clears our lines We turn over the hosts and clear our lines Vannes kick to touch and they build the phases… We knock on in the air and the hosts will have the scrum just over half-way The stand-off splits the uprights and it’s a four point game We’re pushing here with Tuipulotu taking a quality short ball to break the gain line We’ll have a scrum just shy of the hosts 22 Hamish Watson is on for Sam Skinner with Young into the row The hosts break through and power in for the score The conversion is missed and it’s 25-26 Vannes knock on from the restart and we have the scrum in our 22 We move it wide and Goosen gets us the hard yards We move the ball from the lineout and Ross Thompson puts in a beauty of a cross-field kick to Duhan who touches down Thompson nails he conversion and it’s 20-26 We force a knock on with Vannes in our 22 before sending a cross-field wide to Darcy Graham The wingers puts on the afterburners and races into the Vannes half before being dragged down Dave Cherry makes way for Paddy Harrison at hooker Duhan knocks on in the wide channels after a tidy cross-field kick from Healy The ref judges Rae had his knee on the ground and the Vannes get an easy exit Darcy breaks through following a beauty of a switch from the lineout but its knocked on in contact Healy sends a beauty long and we’ll have the lineout 10m out We win the penalty and Healy advances us to half-way Vannes nudge a penalty just shy of our 22 but the throw is squint and we’ll have the scrum Meanwhile D’arcy Rae is on for Javan Sebastian at tighthead The hosts have the put-in in their 22 as we knock on from a high-ball A simple penalty makes it 20-19 to the hosts Jamie Ritchie has passed his HIA and returns to the field A big 40 coming up – c’mon Edinburgh Schoeman is held up over the line and that’ll do it for the first half We’re on metres short and pushing… Wes cleans up at the back and Vannes are pinged for going off their feet The number 8 is injured and is replaced by Glen Young The hosts power in after breaking into our 22 Ritchie is off for HIA with Hamish Watson taking his place We steal brilliantly at the breakdown but the quick pass wide is knocked on The hosts react well after the score but we scramble well and force a knock on Lang delays his pass to Graham who then finds the trailing Lang again Lang shows great composure to find Price on his shoulder who touches down for his second and our third try of the game Matt Currie initially did brilliant to take a ball in contact but his offload to Darcy is knocked on It looked short but the referee had other ideas and Vannes are awarded the score Not quite sure how the ref got a look at that… The conversion goes over and it’s 10-12 We scramble brilliantly with Vannes pushing for the line and looks like the hosts have come up short here The hosts are under our sticks with the put in The hosts are building the phase in our 22 before we’re pinged again for high tackle Sam Skinner looks like he was pinned in there but the ref blows up and Vannes send it long into touch we’re in for our second score of the game Matt Currie dummies before finding Darcy Graham who breaks the gainline The winger finds the trailing Price who canters in With Healy adding the extras it’s 3-12 Vannes go quick after we’re penalised for not rolling away Jamie Ritchie is then judged to be offside despite it looking like the ball had popped out the side of the ruck That’s a brilliant steal at the breakdown We look togo long straight away via the boot of Currie however its misjudged and rolls over the dead ball We knock on from a high ball and Vannes have the put in on half-way WES RUNS IT IN FOR THE OPENING SCORE OF THE GAME Ali Price the mastermind with a brilliant miss one pass to the full-back That’s a brilliant steal at the breakdown and we move it wide to Wes who chips inside After Vannes try to run it out we get on ball and win a breakdown pen which Schoeman takes quickly We move the ball side to side with Jamie Ritchie putting in a nice offload that nearly frees Wes Goosen We are eventually turned over but positive signs so far Ben Healy is just wide with his penalty attempt from range A solid scrum leads to Duhan taking a short ball straight from 9 and we eventually win a penalty as the hosts go off their feet at the breakdown Final touches at Stade de la Rabine and it’s nearly time for kick-off in Vannes Live updates will begin from kick-off at 1pm GMT Olympic Membership - Free Live Stream Sports & Original Series - join now! 🥇 Olympic Torch Relay | Stage 26 - Morbihan | Olympic Games Paris 2024Watch the highlights of the 26th stage of the Olympic Torch Relay for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 that took place in Morbihan The Olympic Torch continued its progress through western France on the 26th stage of the relay It carried on discovering the Atlantic coast by exploring the Morbihan the department looks out to the ocean as its name suggests: in the local dialect of Brittany This strong link was underlined throughout the day The Olympic Torch began its route in Lorient it headed inland into an area that is brimming with chapels megaliths and manor houses that have all left their mark on the history of the Morbihan the Olympic Torch passed in front of the sanctuary the basilica and the Scala Sancta (holy stairway) following in the footsteps of many visitors who come to see this site each year because it is the third most visited pilgrimage site in France The relay then moved on to Pontivy before passing near to two impressive castles: Rochefort-en-Terre castle built in the 12th century on a rocky outcrop and the Louis XII style Josselin castle The Olympic Torch was carried on board a vessel of the French lifeboat organisation and was transported to the Ile-aux-Moines Island colourful huts on the Plage du Dréhen beach before returning to Vannes where the celebration site was set up on Quai Eric Tabarly the Olympic Torch Relay convoy was cheered on by many spectators who had come to encourage the local relay members The crowds were able to enjoy the entertainment provided by the official sponsors of the Olympic Torch Relay who were present with their colourful floats to liven up the roadsides In keeping with the special nature of the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay between Avenue du Général De Gaulle and Les Halles de Merville It was dedicated to the para-sport movement which has been growing steadily since the beginning of the 20th century thanks to the efforts of the French Federation of Para-sport 14-year-old Léonie Saliou – who is a wheelchair fencing athlete - 23 other members of clubs enrolled with the federation carried the Olympic Torch which symbolises a more inclusive society that is making sport accessible to all who takes part in para-football and para-cycling who is involved in sport for the deaf and hearing-impaired with two Deaflympic participations in basketball to his name More than 124 torchbearers took it in turns to illuminate the Morbihan The first to enjoy this honour at the start of the day was the tennis table player from Lorient Arnaud Fravolo Many members of the general public with a passion for sport and a desire to pass on the values inherent to the Olympics (inclusion who raises awareness and collects funds to fight against breast cancer via “La Vannetaise” who is a goalkeeper for an inclusive football club in London and who devotes a significant amount of his commitment to fighting against homophobia Two figures who are well known to spectators and listeners were also among the torchbearers today: renowned reporter François-Xavier Ménage and Olympics specialist Alexandre Boyon It was another celebrity who had the honour of lighting the celebration cauldron who is also the leading scorer in history for the French women’s team boasts 8 Champions League titles and 12 French Championship titles Eugénie began playing her sport in the clubs of the Morbihan Her presence at the celebration site met with great enthusiasm among the spectators present the relay will head to another part of Brittany: the Finistère The Olympic Torch will discover a spot popular with surfers (the Pointe de la Torche cape) other sites appreciated by hikers (the Point du Raz cape and Mont Saint-Michel-de-Brasparts) and will visit the historical city centre of Quimper The day will finish in Brest where the celebration cauldron will be lit The Olympic Torch will then board the Maxi Banque Populaire XI trimaran one of the quickest sailing boats in the world that it will set off for an unprecedented crossing of the Atlantic Ocean enabling the Olympic Torch to light up 5 French overseas territories Top 14 recruitment continues. In the case of Vannes, the quest to be competitive in the Top 14 now sees the Pro D2 champions signing Santiago Medrano The Puma has agreed to join the club from the Western Force in Super Rugby Vannes have two other Pumas on their roster. Flanker Francisco Gorrissen is captain while Bautista Pedemonte also plays back-row. Pedemonte made his debut for Argentina this past Saturday against France in Mendoza Medrano is the second Rugby World Cup 2019 prop to join Vannes in as many weeks. He follows England’s Mako Vunipolo who has joined from Saracens. Vunipolo and Medrano were on opposite teams in Tokyo for the pool match between England and Argentina The 28-year-old Medrano was left out of Argentina’s roster for Rugby World Cup 2023. He joined Lyon on a short-term deal during the Super Rugby off-season Medrano played Super Rugby for Los Jaguares from 2018-2020 and for the Western Force from 2021-2024  He joined the Worcester Warriors only for the team to go bust which saw him extending his stay in Western Australia Tags Joël Le Scouarnec is accused of attacking 299 patients at a dozen hospitals between 1989 and 2014 A former French surgeon on trial for the sexual abuse of hundreds of patients has told the court he used his status as a doctor to attack children but still believed he was a good medical practitioner “I was a surgeon who benefited from my status to attack children, I don’t deny that,” Joël Le Scouarnec in what is one of France’s largest ever child abuse cases “I carried out my professional activity as well as I could but at the same time I carried out sexual assaults on little patients,” he said “My medical treatment of patients does not erase the crimes that I carried out in the same period …I know this can seem difficult: my paedophile activity was one thing and this paedophile activity had no impact on my professional activity.” The digestive surgeon, who often operated on children with appendicitis, is accused of attacking 299 patients at a dozen hospitals across France between 1989 and 2014 He is accused of targeting some when they were under anaesthetic in the post-surgery recovery room or in their hospital beds Evidence in the four-month trial will include handwritten notebooks in which Le Scouarnec listed patients’ initials and his alleged crimes against them Police cross-checked the notebooks with hospital records to identify potential victims – some had been unconscious and anaesthetised at the time and were told of the alleged abuse for the first time ahead of the trial Le Scouarnec said his doctor peers had seen him as a surgeon who was “not necessarily brilliant Asked about former colleagues who had thought he was a good surgeon and in fact I’m the person who is before you now He said: “For most people it’s totally beyond comprehension how one can be an active surgeon correctly carrying out one’s activity [in terms of] professional technique and at the same time commit assaults.” Despite Le Scouarnec being flagged to French authorities by the FBI in 2004 for viewing child abuse imagery on the dark web for which he was convicted and given a four-year suspended prison sentence in France in 2005 he was never prevented from working with children and continued to gain prestigious jobs in hospitals across the country including in Brittany and the west of France He was never investigated during his career despite some of his colleagues sounding the alarm over suspicious behaviour He continued to practise until his retirement in 2017 after which a rape accusation was made against him and police discovered diary accounts of abuse against his patients stored in notebooks and on computers He is currently in jail after he was found guilty in an earlier trial in 2020 of abusing four children Asked in court about doctors at one clinic who found out about his 2005 conviction for possession of child abuse imagery and challenged him on it Le Scouarnec said: “They asked me for clarifications lied about all the attacks I might have done and said nothing.” He said the doctors told him he should have another medical professional with him at all times when seeing patients “I told them I would not resign … Because I wanted to keep my job and salary.” Le Scouarnec told the court he had a vocation to become a surgeon from a young age Asked by a panel of judges and the state prosecutor if he had moved hospital regularly to avoid his crimes being detected or to access new patients he said that was not his reason for changing clinic or hospital He said his office in the hospitals always featured a cupboard with a lock and a desk with a lock Asked by the head judge if he kept his notebooks and CD-roms of abuse imagery locked there using the office as a “refuge for his activities” Le Scouarnec told the court: “I feel ready to admit to some acts of rape that I have wanted to hide I’m done with lying.” He described being “invaded” by fixations on abuse and called himself a “pervert” Le Scouarnec was asked by the head judge if he had preferred to work in small clinics because he thought there may have been less oversight than in large hospitals He said: “I always preferred to work in small structures I’m not sure there was less oversight there than in bigger establishments.” He said he had mostly made post-operative visits to patients with a nurse Asked by the head judge about one nurse who had said he was “the only doctor who wanted to do his rounds without a nurse” I never asked a nurse not to do a visit with me.” The population of Morbihan in Brittany has grown by 0.6% on average each year between 2016 and 2022 according to a new report with Vannes receiving the most total newcomers and Gestel experiencing the biggest percentage decrease.  A new report was published by national statistics bureau INSEE on December 13 showed the population of Morbihan (56) on January 1 an increase of 0.6% year on year from 2016 to 2022 This rate of increase matches that of Brittany as a whole.  slightly lower than the death rate of 11.2% meaning that the increase in population was due to migration INSEE reports that it is mostly on the coasts of the Morbihan that the population is increasing with populations decreasing further inland.  Read more: Dordogne: See which communes have grown in population - and those that have fallen The ten communes that grew in size the most according to INSEE were as follows:  Vannes (capital) :1,737 more residents between 2016 and 2022  Surzur: 784 more residents (the biggest percentage increase at 2.8% each year) “I'm delighted with the demographic growth of our territory We have been a territory that welcomes retirees and now working people The years to come will be more complicated,” David Robo mayor of Vannes and president of the Golfe du Morbihan-Vannes agglomération The communes which experienced the biggest decrease in population were Gestel (-1,1% year on year between 2016 and 2022) Guiscriff (-0,6%) Cléguérec (-0,6%) and Guer (-0.5%) Read more: Good news for residents in Brittany as extra trains confirmed Older generations make up most of the population of Morbihan The figures show that the two most represented age groups are 60 to 74 year olds (20.8%) and 45 to 59 year-olds (20.1%).  15 to 29 year olds make up 14.1% of the population with an impressive 11,790 (1.5%) of residents being over the age of 90 Read more: King Arthur's knights revived in Brittany  there were 363,065 households in the department.  216,443 were made up of families; 107,750 without children and 80,718 with one or more children The remaining 27,975 households comprise families of one parent and one or more children.  142,627 households comprised just one person.  44.4% of those above the age of 15 were married and 24.2% were single The remaining quarter was made up of people in a PACS Eight pairs of tickets for this summer’s festival are available exclusively to Connexion subscribers Recent power cut in Spain and Portugal is warning to holidaymakers to ensure they are prepared for worst-case scenario The resort is set to remain open to the public and not only to professionals The prospect of ‘doing a Vannes’ in England could bring a much-needed feelgood factor back to the Premiership There were 11,792 crammed into the stadium and the hometown heroes in blue – even Mako Vunipola is a Vannes man these days – looked anything but a side happy to make up the top‑flight numbers for a season. No surprise there. The second‑tier league of French rugby, the Pro D2, is rising in quality and competitiveness each year, assisted by the latest huge broadcasting deal struck between Canal+ and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby. the Pro D2 clubs will receive €10.7m (£8.9m) every season in broadcast revenue for the next five years roughly a tenth of the sum received by the Top 14 sides but more than enough to encourage a healthy vibrant league whose leading teams can aspire to join the elite All will be looking currently at Vannes and thinking: “That could be us.” Just across the Channel in England, the vibe is very different. Newcastle, who have finished bottom of the Premiership for the previous two seasons attracted just 5,116 supporters to their first game of the new campaign at home against Bristol Bears a result that sadly did little to signal a radical change in luck this season Manchester City v Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium attracted more paying fans – 52,846 – than all five Premiership rugby games combined Even Notts County v Gillingham in League Two attracted more than the rerun of last season’s Premiership final between Bath and Northampton Hopefully the Falcons and the crowds will both perk up soon those at the sharp end in England also want to know whether a promotion playoff is a realistic possibility this season clubs in the second-tier English Championship are still awaiting clarity around the all-important finer details that were meant to be settled before the season kicked off at the weekend In theory the goalposts shifted slightly this summer with a capacity of 5,000 now acceptable providing a wannabe promoted side has proper plans in place to increase that to 7,500 by year two and to 10,001 by year four Eligible sides also have to pass a facilities audit that will not be completed until January the funding gap between the leagues effectively makes “doing a Vannes” from a standing start all but impossible It is a situation the Championship clubs want properly resolved there is a wealth of evidence in American and Australian sport to suggest promotion and relegation is not compulsory for a healthy league assuming other key prerequisites – a salary cap linked to club revenue there is British team sport’s rich tradition of promotion and relegation neatly summed up by none other than Newcastle’s director of rugby “I’ve always coached and played with relegation and think it’s a magnificent thing,” he told the Times last week “I know it’s not like this in the States and other places but the jeopardy is all about promotion and relegation It’s difficult to motivate my lot here in dead-rubber games.” That uneasy situation is further magnified now the Premiership consists of just 10 teams If eight are going to qualify for Europe – and no one is realistically going down because a sly subclause can always be found to slam the trapdoor shut – where is the feelgood oxygen every good league needs The Rugby Football Union is still talking to people behind the scenes about the possibility of resurrecting Worcester and Wasps the need for a “whole‑game solution” is as vital as ever The RFU surely cannot simply turn its back – or be seen to be doing so – on sides such as Coventry Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster Knights who would be competitive if a promotion-relegation playoff did happen having trumpeted the reintroduction of a playoff ends up not permitting it amid a blizzard of red tape and financial chicanery “I don’t think the game will accept that,” says Simon Halliday the former England centre who acts as Ealing’s public representative Free weekly newsletterThe latest rugby union news and analysis The Championship clubs have also voted in favour of second-tier teams being allowed to field a maximum of just six Premiership loanees are up‑and‑coming Premiership squad members going to enjoy game time if they do not instantly make the first team at elite level Hefty parachute payments to sides coming down (effectively guaranteeing they bounce straight back up) are also apparently on borrowed time But there is a far bigger picture here and it needs resolving urgently: how does English rugby ideally see itself in 10 or 20 years’ time Meanwhile mighty Vannes are off to Toulon this Saturday flying a Breton flag for rugby dreamers everywhere Here's how to watch the 2025 Rc Vannes vs La Rochelle on FloRugby quiet vehicle of tourism offering 2,000 years of history among timber frames Much louder is the bandwagon that has 80 minutes of Top 14 pedigree © Antoine Mercusot for Chatillon Architectes Working on this project alongside the Grand Palais for the Olympics demonstrates the interests and processes driving our practice our approach remains consistent: preserving the past while enhancing it for future use Related Article 1 Month to go: Paris Renovates Iconic Training Venues for 2024 Olympics Its interior hall spans 3,000 square meters and measures 98 meters in length The superstructure comprises two inclined concrete arches spanning 25 meters connected by a network of tie rods supporting the roof and braced by facade posts The original design breaks away from the cubic rationalism of vertical walls The renovation of the translucent polycarbonate facade involved installing new double-skin insulated cladding enhancing efficiency and performance while maintaining the structure’s aesthetic and natural light quality Additionally, the roof has been updated with a synthetic membrane to improve insulation, acoustic performance, and thermal conditions. Land leveling and the addition of elevators and ramps have ensured universal accessibility, enabling the building to be used for both Olympic and Paralympic training and to remain open for the local community post-Olympics. Edinburgh Rugby has issued the following squad update ahead of Saturday's EPCR Challenge Cup Round 3 match against RC Vannes at Stade de la Rabine Ben Vellacott (ankle) – Back fit and available for selection Paul Hill (calf) – Back fit and available for selection Ewan Ashman (shoulder) – Back fit and available for selection Harry Paterson (hamstring) – Back fit and available for selection Ross McCann (calf) – Out until early February Freddy Douglas (ankle) – Out until early February Mark Bennett (pec) – Return to play still to be confirmed Connor Boyle (knee) – Return to play still to be confirmed post-surgery Emiliano Boffelli (back) – Out until late-February so that's an achievement that won't be missed by us but we know we've got three more games to keep building on that." Is the Queensland boss the right man to lead Australia forward And will Joe Schmidt be tempted to stick around for Rugby World Cup 2027 The referee has blown their whistle to end the game with Stephen Varney getting some game time ASM Clermont Auvergne decide to make a substitution The Vannes supporters go wild as Maxime Lafage successfully kicks the penalty goal ASM Clermont Auvergne sub Sebastien Bezy comes onto the field Baptiste Jauneau departs for ASM Clermont Auvergne Alexandre Fischer comes on for ASM Clermont Auvergne The touch judges raise their flags as Anthony Belleau kicks the conversion A penetrating move by ASM Clermont Auvergne results in a try for Alex Newsome What a run here by Alex Newsome as they get over the gainline What a run here by Alivereti Raka as they get over the gainline What a run here by Bautista Delguy as they get over the gainline Maxime Lafage does the business as their penalty goal attempt goes over with Giorgi Akhaladze getting some game time with Cristian Ojovan getting some game time with Santiago Medrano getting some game time Bautista Delguy makes the break as the defence re-enacts the parting of the red sea The half-time whistle blows and both teams head for the dressing rooms Anthony Belleau does the business as their conversion attempt goes over The pressure has finally told as Regis Montagne scores from close range Trouble here as Baptiste Jauneau breaches the defence The touch judges raise their flags as Maxime Lafage kicks the penalty goal Anthony Belleau adds the points for ASM Clermont Auvergne This is dangerous for the defence as Salesi Rayasi bursts through to advance the Vannes attack This is dangerous for the defence as Romaric Camou bursts through to advance the Vannes attack A gap opened in the defence and Simon Augry took full advantage A series of passes by Vannes results in a try for Romaric Camou A gap opened in the defence and Romaric Camou took full advantage Maxime Lafage played a key part in that try Killian Tixeront (ASM Clermont Auvergne) is shown a yellow card We are underway as the referee blows their whistle Join free and tell us what you really think Clermont Auvergne have confirmed three new signings for the 2025-26 season headlined by France international flanker Selevasio To… Europe's elite tournament needs more uncertainty rather than another shakedown towards an inevitable Leinster-Toulouse final Tommy Freeman continued his try hot streak by plundering a hat-trick as Northampton stormed into the Investec Champions Cup quarte… Clermont's fall was swift but there are signs the tide is turning Bayonne centre Sireli Maqala moved clear as the French Top 14's leading try scorer on Saturday crossing in his side's 27-21 win at Vannes Fiji's Maqala claimed his ninth league try of the season one more than Lyon scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud as his Basque outfit moved up to fourth in the table The 24-year-old was joined on the scoresheet with tries from hooker Lucas Martin Argentina back-rower Rodrigo Bruni as well as 12 points from the boot by fly-half Joris Segonds Vannes remain bottom of the standings after their ninth loss in 12 games of their maiden campaign in the top-flight former England coach Stuart Lancaster remains under pressure as Racing 92 director of rugby after the Parisians lost 21-17 at Montpellier in their fourth defeat in five games across all competitions Former England No 8 Billy Vunipola claimed his first try for Montpellier Toulon are up to third thanks to a 56-25 hammering of Pau as France winger Gabin Villiere claimed a double Last season's losing finalists Bordeaux-Begles went above Toulouse to top spot holding off Castres for a 13-3 victory as ex-Ireland fly-half Joey Carbery kicked eight points in torrential rain "The score isn't great but what's important is that we've won at Castres," Bordeaux-Begles centre Yoram Moefana told Canal+ record 23-time champions Toulouse face Lyon without their Olympic seven gold medallist Antoine Dupont as the scrum-half is rested following two weeks of Champions Cup action