Placoplâtre is based in Vaujours, in the French department of Seine-Saint-Denis Designated as the world's largest gypsum manufacturing site it is an integral part of the Île-de-France region's industrial heritage And with good reason: this plant produces over 40% of France's plaster output 1 million tonnes of this material and 62 million m² of plasterboard per year the plant has been based in Vaujours since the 1920s as the area is home to the large gypsum quarries used to make plaster To highlight the region's industrial heritage the Seine-Saint-Denis tourist office is offering tours of the factory with Explore Paris to take a behind-the-scenes look at the manufacture of this indispensable building material on the factory site: remember to bring comfortable clothes and shoes and is recommended for adults and older teenagers (aged 16 and over) Refer your establishment, click herePromote your event, click here The geopolitical context is highly conflictual and volatile It is marked by interconnected issues and profound instability The nuclear narrative employed by Russia and the observation of the current conflict in Ukraine reinforce deterrence common spaces such as the sea and cyberspace remain prime sites for conflict or confrontation with our competitors Two underlying trends are superimposed on this state of affairs: the environmental shift and the proliferation of technologies What is changing in the current context is the simultaneity of conflicts the growing level of violence and the challenge to the international order involves anticipating technological breakthroughs particularly in artificial intelligence and data processing Data hubs will be installed on board the units of the naval air group The long term also means developing our partnerships with our allies and strengthening the link with the nation in particular through the coastal reserve flotillas in the Atlantic this year and in the Mediterranean and overseas soon The Navy must be resilient and retain operational superiority in the future The Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October have triggered a cascade of crises in the Middle East Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia for 1,000 days It is an ongoing conflict that is having an impact on the activities of the Navy and our NATO allies in the Euro-Atlantic area The Navy has significantly increased its participation in NATO operations since 2022 for example by taking command of a task group in the Mediterranean in the first half of 2024 or an increased presence in the Baltic Sea For the French Navy today, we are not observing conflicts. We are in contact with the threat through our commitment to Operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea We are facing up to the threat by protecting and accompanying maritime trade in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait The context is therefore demanding in terms of elongation and preparation for our forces a French frigate shot down two Houthi aerial drones This was the start of an uninterrupted sequence of frigate deployments a Panther helicopter destroyed a drone in flight while a frigate destroyed several ballistic missiles: two firsts in operation a frigate destroyed a threatening surface drone And there are missions that are less well known but just as significant in their impact is facing an increased presence of Russian submarine forces from the Northern Fleet maritime patrol aircraft: the anti-submarine warfare mission is demanding and it is an area in which our Navy has developed considerable expertise that is recognised by its partners where the Navy carries out permanent actions to protect and intervene in the fight against drug trafficking More than 43 tonnes of drugs seized in 2024; several thousand human lives saved in the Channel and all along the coast of mainland France and overseas A country without a navy that manages to repel a powerful organised and structured navy into its ports It is at sea that Ukraine has achieved most of its successes This is due to the excellence of its engineers and sailors their ability to adapt and use technology to their advantage This tactic has been particularly effective in an enclosed sea where disruptive capabilities can produce maximum effect The asymmetrical balance of power at sea turned to the Ukrainians' advantage But Russia's power is always expressed in the backyard: its strategic depth in a gigantic territory or in the immensity of the Atlantic Ocean it's a reminder not to let our guard down and to remain dynamic so that we can occupy all the room for manoeuvre that has opened up below the threshold of war we also need to be powerful on the high seas It's our reach and mobility that give us the resilience we need Drones have an impact on all environments and are an integral part of intervention and protection missions drone technology is a concrete reality: we operate aerial drones from amphibious helicopter carriers ocean-going patrol boats and semaphore vessels In addition, the Navy has adapted the training of its units to this reality. For example, theWildfire exercise carried out in October at Toulon with more than fifty drones attacking units individually or in swarms This type of exercise enables us to make progress in protection against drones as well as in their use in an offensive mode It is essential in the process of training units at sea before they are deployed the Navy took risks very early on in the development of drones It has committed itself to the mine countermeasures programme of the future and this year has received the first three mine countermeasures modules This is the complete dronisation of a Navy component that will gradually come to maturity Le Dronathlon which took place in Toulon last October is an example of the coordination between the Navy industry and the French Defence Procurement Agency in the search for the best technological solutions the first trials date back to 2008 and have made it possible to exploit use cases and explore opportunities on all platforms S100 UAVs are now being deployed from amphibious helicopter carriers The FREMM-DA Alsace and Lorraine have the same anti-submarine capabilities as the FREMMs area defence and air operations control functionalities thanks to developments in their combat system an optimised "wasp-waist" mast and an increased radar detection range During its long-term deployment to Asia, Lorraine took part in Operation Sagittarius the evacuation of European nationals from Sudan Alsace was deployed in the Indian Ocean as part of the ASPIDES operation The two frigates have demonstrated their full capabilities in the field of air defence and we are learning all we can to upgrade their protection system The FREMM-DAs complete the range of frigates specialising in this area alongside the Forbin and the Chevalier Paul Admiral Ronarc'h will in fact be the first defence and intervention frigate (FDI)She will be delivered to the French Navy in 2025 She underwent her first sea trials at the beginning of October off Lorient These are first-rank frigates that are versatile Their submarine warfare capabilities are close to those of the FREMMs and their surface warfare capabilities are close to those of the FREMM-DAs They will make it possible to achieve the format of 15 first-rank frigates envisaged in the 2017 strategic review We will be able to count on the IDF for all protection and intervention missions Global warming is a source of instability and tension and its effects are numerous and critical: population movements I therefore endorse the words of the French Chief of Defence Staff: climate change is a "catalyst for chaos" Sailors are very sensitive to the environment because of their permanent presence at sea This is true when we talk about the energy transition which raises issues of refuelling and skills with fossil fuel engines that the military may one day be the last to use This transition is also generating new tasks: the installation of wind farms on the high seas is a new asset to be protected in our approaches Climate change is also changing our missions with the increase in assistance missions following humanitarian and climatic disasters This is a real concern for our partners in these regions and one that we share with them from overseas The Navy is also working hard to adapt its infrastructure to extreme heat and rising water levels in ports The infrastructure work being carried out in Toulon and Brest takes account of this reality The Institute for Advanced Studies in National Defence All rights reserved 2025 - Legal information – Privacy policy - designed by CONCILIUM Home » Admiral Vaujour is the New Head of the French Navy Admiral Vaujour becomes the 63rd Chief of Staff of the French Navy (not counting three admirals at the head of French naval forces during the Vichy regime but counting two admirals of the Forces navales françaises libres during WWII) The ceremony took place in presence of the French Minister of the Armed Forces Lecornu entrusted three new flags to the guard of three forces of the Navy: the “Naval Aviation” flag was entrusted to the guard of the naval aviation force (ALAVIA) the of “Submarines” flag was assigned to the strategic oceanic force (FOST) and the “Combat ships” flag to the naval action force (FAN) Admiral Nicolas VAUJOUR entered the French Naval Academy on September 1 At the end of his officer training on the helicopter carrier Jeanne d’Arc in 1992 he joined the surveillance frigate Ventôse in Saint-Nazaire to the end of its armament He then participated in the first deployments of the ship in operation CORYMBE off the coast of Africa then in the Caribbean arc during the Haiti embargo in 1994 He was assigned in 1995 to the frigate De Grasse then in 1996 he takes command of the Lion training vessel in 2001 he joined the anti-air frigate Cassard as a combat systems expert During these four years he participated in the protection of the port of Djibouti and the deployments of the carrier strike group in the Adriatic and the Indian Ocean (TRIDENT and HERACLES missions) he was assigned to the ALFAN training division as head of the “above surface warfare” section In 2004 he took command of the high seas patrol vessel (PHM) Commandant Birot and was deployed to the Indian Ocean as part of the ENDURING FREEDOOM mission He joined the Joint Defense College in 2006 he took on the responsibilities of deputy sea to the chief of staff of the armed forces He joined the air defense frigate Forbin as XO on July 27 2009 and was promoted to captain on December 1 He took up the duties of deputy admiral commanding the naval action force for transverse domains on September 5 He took command of the air defense frigate (FDA) Chevalier Paul on July 16 he was deployed to the Indian Ocean and joined an American Carrier Strike Group as commander of air defense around the aircraft carrier and the Arab-Persian Gulf region he participated in knowledge and anticipation operations off the coast of Syria In July 2015 he was appointed “combat engagement” operational coherence officer at the army general staff he was appointed deputy commander of the French Aeromaritime Rapid Reaction Force he took on the responsibilities of deputy chief of staff for “naval air operations” he held the position of “international relations” coordinating authority of the navy until September 9 chief of staff “operations” of the Defence Staff Admiral Vaujour is the first representative of the French Navy he advises and assists the Joint Chief of Staff with regards to the French Navy He ensures the operational readiness of the naval forces morale and condition of sailors and maintains bilateral relations with foreign navies over the direction of naval military personnel Admiral Vandier becomes Major General of the Defence Staff Naval News brings you news coverage of the latest naval defense shows & events We are also reporting on naval technology from all over the world Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker by | 7-04-2021 | Business, News Here is a category of start-ups that we hear little about but that is truly taking off: space-related startups this is a rapidly-growing industry that is already touching our lives The data which is captured from the sky has a direct link with the management of maritime traffic but also with agriculture and many other areas the obvious question: How can a startup launch in this sector The investment goes well beyond the acquisition of a few servers and the hiring of seasoned coders … Tickling the stars is expensive and well beyond the reach of ordinary entrepreneurs We found some answers during our interview with Pierre-Damien Vaujour, CEO and co-Founder of Loft Orbital, a San Francisco start-up, and FACCSF’s member Loft Orbital’s ambition is to bring space within the reach of its customers without them having to buy a satellite this was the state of affairs: companies had to spend millions of dollars and manage a three to five-year schedule and those projects required an army of coders and assorted techies Loft Orbital brings a very different value proposition: they offer to support their customer’s data sensor -let’s say an inter-spectral camera for example the camera/hub ratio is not 1: 1 … but rather 5: 1 Vaujour explains that each mission embeds up to 5 sensors from different customers on the same hub His team then attaches the hub to a satellite bus and entrusts everything to a company of launchers such as SpaceX or Rocket Lab… and it’s up and flying … It’s not quite that simple though It obviously takes a lot of code and expertise to fix the sensors on the hub because by definition sensors are all different… And Loft Orbital has to fix the hub on the satellite bus so that the data Loft Orbital does not process the data collected in space they leave it to their customers who by definition are experts in their field; Loft Orbital only ensures the integrity of the data until it returns to earth Loft Orbital is a bit like the AWS (Amazon Web Services) of space a kind of pioneer of “space as-a-service”; a real facilitator for all companies who need to collect data from space but who are unwilling or unable to integrate aerospace engineering expertise The other significant advantage of this service for the end customer is the cost and the transfer from Capex to Opex this discussion has given rise to many questions why install a start-up in San Francisco when the launchers are usually in Florida Vaujour answers “Quite simply because the VCs ecosystem is unique in Silicon Valley and if they believe in a project they do not hesitate even when they are solicited to invest in the aerospace industry the 60 members of the team are divided between Colorado and Toulouse in France but the bulk of the workforce remains in San Francisco.” If you’re wondering how one becomes a co-founder of an aerospace company well let’s say it can’t be improvised Pierre-Damien Vaujour has an adequate academic background: he graduated from ISAE Supaero in Toulouse then did a Master of Science at the University of Michigan but above all he then participated in the development of space tourism during the launch of the Google Lunar X PRIZE He created Loft Orbital after being one of the very first employees of Spire a satellite data company that is evolving in this new space industry If this interview made you want to join a growing company, Loft Orbital is looking for software engineers and engineers in the field of aerospace engineering. Here is a company where you will have room to fly your career. FOLLOW US var sb_instagram_js_options = {"font_method":"svg","placeholder":"https:\/\/mercisf.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/instagram-feed\/img\/placeholder.png","resized_url":"https:\/\/mercisf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sb-instagram-feed-images\/","ajax_url":"https:\/\/mercisf.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php"};Subscribe to our newsletter All Rights Reserved © 2025 MerciSF - Designed by Faria Design The first time Redoine Faid escaped from prison five years ago he managed to escape again -- by hitching a ride on a hijacked helicopter was serving 25 years in prison for his role in a failed 2010 robbery that resulted in the death of French police officer Aurélie Fouquet He was also given 10 years for his brazen 2013 prison escape Faid's latest flight from prison came after two or three heavily armed men hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Faid's prison in Seine-et-Marne the armed men forced the pilot to fly them to the Val d'Oise region before releasing the pilot unharmed and fleeing in an unidentified vehicle It was not immediately clear how Faid was able to get access to the hijacked helicopter But news of his second escape "devastated" the parents of the slain officer the family's attorney told CNN affiliate BFM-TV Attorney Laurent-Frank Lienard said Fouquet's parents are certain Faid "was involved at the highest level in the robbery attempt that led to Aurélie Fouquet's death." Faid was convicted of masterminding the failed 2010 robbery Two other men were sentenced for her murder But Faid "always denied his involvement in the case," his former lawyer Christian Saint-Palais said "He considered himself the victim of an injustice He felt he was wrongly incarcerated," Saint-Palais told the newspaper Le Parisien that could justify recovering his freedom if the opportunity arose." Police have now mobilized and are guarding borders to try to catch the fugitive Faid held five people -- including four guards -- at gunpoint at a detention center in the northern city of Lille He then detonated explosives to destroy five doors penitentiary union spokesman Etienne Dobrometz told CNN affiliate BFMTV It was not clear how he got the gun and explosives Faid grew a beard and wore a wig while on the run After an international manhunt that spanned dozens of countries he was captured at a hotel east of Paris and locked up in a different prison While Faid's escape Sunday via helicopter may seem shocking it's actually the latest in a long history of French inmates escaping into the sky used a helicopter for three separate prison escapes according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association The Frenchman first used a helicopter to flee from a Luynes prison in 2001 he helped inmates from the same prison escape by chopper but then he escaped for the third time in 2007 using a helicopter hijacked by four men the wife of another French inmate was so determined to get her husband out of prison that she took helicopter flight lessons just for the escape was serving a lengthy sentence for attempted murder and armed robbery Michel Vaujour "forced his way onto the prison's roof by wielding nectarines that were painted to look like grenades." then picked him up in a helicopter and whisked him away to a football field Nadine Vaujour was discovered and arrested in southwestern France Michel was later shot in the head during a failed bank robbery Report a typo a show bringing you the wildest true escape stories of all time for a bonkers jailbreak by a French gangster who declared “war on society.” I’m Arturo Castro and I’m here with a wizard of the comedy world Arturo: I gotta tell the audience that Jay catfished me– Arturo: –in the sense that when we—we sat for an interview uh … for the head writer position of Alternatino and Jay showed up in like—a button down And then I never saw him wear pants ever again This is a—this is a cultural language thing I guess they don’t call short pants “pants.” They– We do not show another man our thighs unless we mean business and you really… Jay: And I was just throwing them out there in your face every day always looks like he just missed his flight He f***ing had to go get that neck pillow and his f***ing flight left him And we’re in Annecy in the Alps of Southern France has started taking helicopter lessons from a guy named Guy he didn’t think anything of it except that he noticed that she showed great commitment to learning she booked a hotel by the airport for a whole month and she spent two or three hours every day practicing in the air with her instructor Monsieur Guy felt like he was getting to know her pretty well that apparently means remembering that she was blonde she took her flying exam and she passed with flying colors Arturo: And she got a 58 out of 60 required points You would be a head of merde if you had any more than 60.” Jay: “I am dying and I will pass my flying exam.” that there was a sketch that we never quite made work about a French man who was unimpressed by everything and called everything “sh*t.” and then a robber comes into the restaurant where—where he is at and he’s like Jay: I wonder why they didn’t let us do that Arturo: Maybe because we didn’t know how to f***ing end the sketch or we sounded like pirates when we did French accents where she joined a flight club at an airport and started flying some light utility helicopters So Lena begins renting a helicopter every two weeks and she gets to know the owner of the helicopter rental company He described her as “a pretty little woman,” uh “the sportsman type,” which is probably French for not curvy Arturo: So Claude said that Lena took a liking to one helicopter in particular She would come to his business twice a month and rent it for like but Lena was practicing one very special skill Hovering with the helicopter just above the ground Lena arrived with a friend: a man carrying a heavy duffel bag this didn’t raise any red flags for Claude It was carrying … dun dun dun … a sub-machine gun and the day she’d been training for was finally here the air traffic control lost contact with her The French Air police tried to get radio response from the helicopter as it buzzed the rooftops She was flying 19 miles from the airport to La Santé prison in Paris—because she was gonna bust her husband outta jail Now I see how it all ties together with the theme of this podcast Can we take a moment and talk about the commitment it took to do this Jay: She must have really loved her husband He was a gangster who had declared as a teenager that he was gonna wage war against society Jay: That’s a very common thing in—among teenagers Arturo: They are incredibly good at striking in France Arturo: We could take a page out of their book for this I’d be striking right now for better wages for podcast co-host literally—when he was a kid his parents sent him to live in a boarding school run by a local priest like guilt—guilt-inducing chores or whatever—the priest taught Michel how to climb is this like is this like a super alpha priest this couple is like—is gonna take over the world she’s a sportsman type with who flies helicopters and he’s like but also my—my priest like always sounded like that French dying dude that you just did I didn’t know they were like priests that like One person in the audience is gonna be like you’re gonna get that one hardcore Catholic podcast listener he started stealing cars whenever he wanted to take his girlfriend dancing So usually they would leave the car in the same place that they found it but after a while they started getting sloppy and just parked it right in front of his apartment Michel and his girlfriend were woken up by the sound of the police banging on the front door Everyone knows you don’t park a stolen car in front of your house And—and I deserve to be taken off to prison right now because–” let me put on my pants right now before you take me to prison.” Arturo: Jay’s way would be like—“And by the way I would like to confess to other crimes of myself and other people He dove out of the bedroom window to make his escape and left his girlfriend to face the police alone leaving your girlfriend holding the bag like that Arturo: I don’t even know that it’s French This guy’s just like an early adopter of the f*** boy nature So how do you even justify it to her later I wanted—I was testing rock climbing with a priest–” uh—go out the window and get a stolen car and drive it to another location You didn’t tell me this was a French story yeah—I think we need to use our own accents from now on Jay: I  don’t think we’re gonna offend anyone by doing bad accents Michel was caught convicted and he was put away for two and a half years Michel thought his punishment was too harsh and this is when he decided to start his war against society Michel was arrested again for the crime of driving without a license and he ends up being convicted of 10 robberies over the years I’m not advocating grand theft auto here—but it seemed like he was just a dumb kid Arturo: He was 19 the first time he got caught it doesn’t feel like people that go in the system So I guess that’s when he got really revolutionary with his crimes He made his first escape when he joined the work crew of prisoners unloading trucks of supplies he bolted through the gap between the truck and the gate and he made his way into the woods where he dodged the officers searching for him Michel and another prisoner pushed through a weak area of the fence and climbed the wall where they realized there was a blind spot for the guards They went on a robbery spree until they got caught again What is it with these people that can’t just enjoy their prison break it just shows you that … I’m coming from a different place “I’m just gonna get out of this cage that you put me in and just do some more damage to this thing that I hate,” you know Michel shared a cell with a safe breaker named Gille—Gill Can the overlords of pronunciation please come in and tell me how to pronounce his name Michel shared a cell with a safe breaker named Gille the pair used one of Gille’s lock picking tricks to escape They collected the red wax from Babybel cheeses to make an imprint of the key but that is the most French way of making a– the fact that they have Babybel cheeses like Jay: Do you know what—what our prisoners would do What prisoners in this country do for one Babybel cheese Arturo: And that was not the Camembert week you know—that week was—it’s not as easy to get an imprint from Camembert Jay: It reminds me of like … I was listening—I was reading about World War I recently and—one of the reasons the French troops were doing so badly is that they all drank a liter of wine every day as opposed to the Germans in World War II which were all hyped up on amphetamines it was actually like both of those world wars were like a study of alcohol versus speed you—just get sloppy drunk on a bunch of red wine and just like if they put us in prison So he and Gille memorized which one was the right key by watching their cell get unlocked every day when they were being put back into the cell Michel bumped the guard and pressed his wax against the key Arturo: –following the imprint of the wax and unlock his f***ing cell Jay: I’m beginning to thank this guy’s a genius could you bump into someone and make—make a wax impression of their key legally—I can’t tell you if I have done that before or not if you had just applied that genius to something else But he was put on earth basically to break out of prisons Jay: He evolved like a hundred thousand years of human evolution led to this guy Michel held what one French newspaper called an “Intimate Ritual of Rebirth.” So he stripped naked and used yoga to enter a trance that would kill the Mad Dog in him cause I know it’s—it’s not gonna be about yoga the fourth escape came in 1979 during a hearing for his crimes if we were gonna smuggle a gun into a hearing In his beautiful thigh pocket that he always carries with him if you wanna promote your sh*t on the show me and Jay and the Catholic guy will definitely buy your stuff Arturo: Michel had actually sewn a pocket inside his underwear and took the gun out when he went to the bathroom before the hearing started carved out of soap and turned black with shoe polish you know—it’s just … this is such a cliche And I love that he can work in different mediums too Michel reconnected with his old prison friend Nadine had also been locked up on three separate times for things like hiding stolen goods So Michel and Nadine were basically a match for each other and Michel started a life with Nadine and her daughter Michel had met a bunch of guys involved in organized crime They reached him now that he was out again and he got hired to help with a bunch of armed robberies and this time Nadine was even grabbed as an accomplice was even born that year while Nadine was in jail Arturo: And the daughter escaped said prison at six months old somehow Michel [and] Nadine arranged for a prison wedding They met at a prison registry to sign the papers Michel told her about his next plans for escape they would need to work together to break Michel out of the most notorious prison in Paris: La Santé Well it’s actually a prison—it’s well known for housing celebrities and VIPs at least—I mean Do any of these names sound familiar to you Arturo: Apparently his excuse is he wanted the cheese Jay: One thing you can say about Manuel Noriega used to film numerous French gangster movies and there was—uh there are French pop songs about the prison you know—I’m not sure if this was filmed there um—was an amazing French film about the rise of an inmate La Santé is still open today and it’s one of just three prisons in Paris the name of the prison is “lay sahn-tay.” Le Sant so we’ve been told by our overlords in the sky I was confused that you were talking about La Santé La Santé’s chief medical officer published a book revealing what life was like inside She described inmates piled on top of one another Suicidal prisoners were left in chains and prisoners with archaic skin infections that had been eliminated in general society Arturo: I’m thinking like leprosy and such weird skin condition where an angel of death comes to your house if you didn’t put the lamb’s blood in front of it.” Arturo: Again we got—we got our Catholic people back She also said that it was infested with rats and cockroaches Arturo: Now Michel—while Michel was serving time he was coordinating with Nadine and other friends on the outside Michel said that after studying the layouts of various prisons he declared that the easiest way out of La Santé was to escape by air the layout made it safe to bring in a helicopter and hover in place where smokestacks blocked the view from the watch towers—meaning that a helicopter couldn’t be shot down by the guards Nadine wasn’t just sitting around waiting for his 18-year sentence to end Michel was—had already escaped four times from prison and this is where we’ll take a little break To apologize to everybody that heard the pronunciation of La Santé Arturo:  Now we’re getting to the big moment: May 6 echo after I say “the escape” or something godly like that He had four hours before the scheduled rendezvous with Nadine that’s rendezvous for all you non-French speaking people the prisoners were let out for a morning walk in the prison yard Michel looked up at the window of the prison building above him Which was actually pretty corny if you ask me The signal was simply a white piece of cardboard stuck in the stairwell window All this elaborate escape and they’re like “I don’t know just put some cardboard up We’ve run out of budget for cool effects.” But it meant that the helicopter was on its way Is he coming this way?” That’s what he felt like And as it f***ing burst into the sky over the prison yard it became a roar that froze all the other prisoners in place the door to the helicopter open and it duffle bag flew out dug out a pistol and pointed it at the prisoners and the guards in the yard “Nobody move,” or whatever the French version of that is And the prisoners that were already not moving Arturo: “ I’m doing yoga still!” There’s one confused yoga instructor being like OK—so Michel also pulled out a fishing rod and two meters of rope so Jay—you’re in a prison yard with a pistol a rope around the fish’s neck and use it to like Now Michel ran to the side of the prison building forcing everybody to clear a path He used a fishing rod to loop the rope through the window bars two meters up He scrambled from window ledge to window ledge using the fishing pole to lift the rope and loop it through the next set of iron bars Arturo: Now a prison guard was stationed on the roof but Michel knew that the man in the helicopter was holding him at gunpoint It was when he reached the roof that Michel says that all the noise caught up with him the helicopter roaring and the prisoners below cheering him on obviously it must be such an emotive moment So he—he jumped onto the landing skids of the helicopter and flew away while the prisoners clapped and celebrated his escape He jump—he just jump—he just grabbed onto the skids he was also—and people say that his chi was really connected as well he could just merge completely with the helicopter—the energy of the helicopter.” Arturo: There—there was a sense of oneness at least that’s—that’s Michel’s version of the story But Michel leaves out some key details that were reported in the news at the time who followed him up to the roof and held off the prison guards with a bundle of grenades a man with a machine gun jumped out of the helicopter and slid down a cable to the building’s roof the cord was dropped again to the gunman who grabbed it and he was also raised into the air Then the helicopter turned and flew off leaving Pierre behind So yeah—that’s why he didn’t put it in his book so—Pierre was awaiting trial for armed robbery and he told the police that he decided not to join the escape at the last minute But the thing that Pierre could reveal to the prison guards was that the grenades he was using were not real Pierre had hidden them and covered them in paint to look like explosives I—I love to think that one of the guards knew they were in grenades “I don’t—my mouth is just salivating thinking about the sourness.” I can’t blame ’em not wanting to get up close and personal with some f***ing grenades to see if they were gonna explode Prisoner yells “grenade” at me where there’s a helicopter in the sky Jay: I’m surprised they didn’t use cheese because I—I think those round cheeses would look a little more grenade-like Arturo: Because no prison guard will ever mistake cheese for grenades So Nadine flew Michel to a soccer field at a nearby university there was a car waiting to whisk them away No names of their accomplices in the helicopter or getaway car ever came to light I mean—I’m still thinking about poor Pierre like standing on that rooftop going like should I just—should I just wait—wait here and the escape was arranged by his friends in organized crime but it was obviously a network with accomplices both inside and outside the prison When the police chased down the helicopter at the soccer field they surrounded it for more than an hour before moving in to check it out they were terrified that it was booby trapped and waited to see if it would explode holy sh*t—no wonder the nectarine plan worked I mean … these French police are pretty cautious So eventually they sent bomb-sniffing dogs in to inspect it before they searched it some accounts say that Michel and Nadine escaped to South America for a few months but eventually returned after running outta money Jay: I—I love that they staged this incredibly elaborate and expensive escape with all the details in place but they—they go to South America and run outta money but we cannot budget a trip to South America.” It’s like Arturo: They didn’t think in those 17 months of like—or whatever it was—[of] like f***ing helicopter lessons they were also able to slip back across the border into France and hide out in a small French town They tried to set up a life as a family in this little small town French newspapers say that they were really happy together She wanted to give up a life of crime and live a peaceful situation as a family She even considered turning herself in and she told him so Now what everyone agrees on is that Michel and Nadine were outta money But he was pretty desperate and didn’t exactly … like he got to the bank and saw that there were three armed guards stationed at the front door Michel tried to jump them and win a fight three to one He says he was able to disarm two of them before the third one started shooting and the other cops arrived one newspaper says that Michel shot three officers—before they shot Michel in the head with a magnum One of the most extremely gross parts here right—Michel says that before he blacked out he saw bits of his brain floating away from his head in a stream of his own blood Arturo: Yeah it’s—I want to think it’s karma for Pierre meanwhile is still standing on that rooftop they were able to identify him as the helicopter prison escapee just by his tattoos It didn’t help that one of his tattoos said eventually—eventually Michel came back to consciousness he gets one round cheese every now and then the police swept in and arrested Nadine too They had been conspirators before—so naturally she was suspected as part of the plan for their most recent robbery Apparently Michel tried to escape again by helicopter in 1993 but the prison had been alerted and his plan was thwarted People need to stop renting his friends some helicopters There’s a lot of other motorized vehicles that– you’d have to get some snow-making equipment in the prison somehow for the huskies to have something to go on He would make all the snow and dig a tunnel for the huskies to get out Michel was finally released from prison in September He still had 16 years left on his sentence but changes in French law allowed a judge to overrule the earlier decision This does surprise me about a lot of European law Ten years to think about it.” You know what I mean sentences in Europe sometimes are so commuted I just get the feeling they’re a lot more lenient about a lot of things Nobody—that f***ing Pierre is still working at the f***ing prison now Seventeen of those years in solitary confinement Jay: That—that’ll do some damage on the old noggin my friend He had lived only 40 months of his adult life as a free man “justice and all that stuff didn’t exist for me Some people command the poor folks below them you know—I love the idea of Michel hair billowing in the wind coming out of solitary confinement and being like like for a guy who would just bum rush armed guards and– Jay: –and just like rob mercilessly and plan these elaborate escapes Arturo: So Michel’s escape inspired many copycats eight additional helicopter escapes occurred in French prisons French prisons have started to put mesh nets and closely-spaced cables over outdoor spaces Jay: What about large glass terrines or domes Arturo: What about the Catholic priests shaming you as you’re flying in Jay: Just post Catholic priests on the roofs of all prisons she published a book about her life and especially about the prison escape Michel Vaujour’s biography was published in 2018 with a title He even says—here we go—that his yoga technique restored his brain function and healed his left hand the love that saved Michel was apparently not Nadine’s A law student named Jamila started visiting him in prison and one French newspaper says that they held a secret wedding in 1999 He even tried to have her—he tried to have her repeat the helicopter escape but she was arrested before they could pull it off Arturo: And was sentenced to seven years in prison Jay: Talk about repeating the same mistakes with every relationship I mean he’s obviously got a sort of an animal magnetism going cause like now Nadine’s on the rooftop with Pierre Arturo: And now Nadine and Pierre actually Jay: In our Hollywood version of this Arturo Pierre and Nadine definitely end up together So when Michel and Jamila were finally released Michel went to live with his new wife Jamila Like what else do you have to do for this motherf***er She learned how to hover like 4 feet off the ground Somebody throw a tangerine at this f***ing guy we learned that Michel was excellent at escaping but really bad at keeping personal relationships can you stop f***ing with our French audience Jay: I would talk to you about anything in a heartbeat we recently worked on a film together called The Gift The Gift is a better—this is also a pitch session for titles Jay: It’s like a gift as well as the present moment Do you have anything else you’d like to plug my new line of pants that have like the little zippered flaps on the bottom But feel you have to run to a meeting trying Jay’s new catfish pants They’ll get you hired and then you never have to wear pants ever again.” I have like a—a novel out on Audible now called The Present as well but you used—you wanna get a thematic title Jay: It actually—it should be called The Gift And then I have another novel coming out on Audible called May Fly Man Arturo: Greatest Escapes is a production of iHeartRadio and FilmNation Entertainment Alyssa Martino and Milan Popelka from FilmNation Entertainment Andrew Chugg and Whitney Donaldson from Gilded Audio The show is produced and edited by Carl Nellis and Ben Chugg My mom will call you each personally and thank you © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved and producer extraordinaire Jay Martel soars into action with Arturo as they cover the high-flying trajectory of French gangster Michel Vaujour (877) 456 6241 '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" 2024A French navy Rafale fighter jet takes off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle operating in the Gulf on February 26 (PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images)PARIS — Western navies are preparing for wartime scenarios where they may face degraded operational conditions including a loss of satellite communications and France said at the Paris Naval Conference this week The French navy includes two or three days of drills under “back to the ’80s” conditions whenever it deploys its carrier strike group which means operating without satellite communications and year after year it is more challenging but it is really interesting to see we are still able to operate,’’ Vaujour said He joked that the loss of satellite communication means “less PowerPoint sharing between ships” and instead relying on keywords for operations Countries including China and Russia have developed weapons to deny the U.S. and others access to space capabilities, according to aerospace analysts. Navies need to make their systems more resilient to attacks, particularly communications, according to Vice Adm. Rajesh Pendharkar, Eastern Naval Commander for the Indian navy. The U.S. Navy has similar training as France to prepare for a degraded operational environment, such as a day of operating without GPS, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said at the conference. “The harder we are on ourselves, that will make us that much more resilient and successful if we ever have to go to war,” Franchetti said. Navies and their carrier strike groups are facing new or evolving threats in the face of hypersonic missiles, anti-ship ballistic missiles, drones and cyber warfare, the admirals at the conference said. The battlefield is increasingly transparent, and commanders should assume capabilities will be attacked and degraded during operations, Pendharkar said. Sea has become a more contested environment, and navies need to think about naval combat “from seabed to space,” according to Vaujour. Maritime airspace is now contested, as shown in the Red Sea and the Black Sea, and that will probably be the case for every future crisis, he said. The ability of carriers to function as intelligence nodes and using artificial intelligence to integrate battlefield sensor data from their entire strike group will be key to fending off new threats, the French admiral said. “We must understand what’s going on before the enemy,” Vaujour said. “New technology will give us the opportunity to do that.” While aircraft carriers face challenges, there’s still no better better way to deliver mobile expeditionary strike, force projection and force protection from the sea, said Adm. Sir Ben Key, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff of the Royal Navy. He pointed to China building carriers, despite having developed apparent carrier killer capability. The contemporary battlespace has become more contested for everyone, and the challenge for carrier strike groups is to integrate all available data to create a “superiority bubble” around the carrier, according to Key. “For years, we have assumed sea control, and so we could invest everything pretty much in local superiority and strike as the principal aim,” Key said. “Now what we’ve got to get back into is thinking more deeply on how we do sea control.” Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics. Facebook pageTwitter feedRSS feedDefense News © 2025 Home » French Navy Boosts ‘First Rank’ Surface Ship Availability and Sea Days Speaking on 4 February at the Paris Naval Conference 2025 – an event hosted jointly by the French navy and IFRI (the French institute for international relations) – Adm Vaujour said the navy is using dual-crewing on many of these ships to increase operational output through adding more sea days as well as improving in-service ship support processes to increase platform availability “Availability is one of my motivations because I have by law – [France’s] military planning law – 15 destroyers and frigates in the French Navy the way to have more ships is not to build another one because it has been politically decided that I have 15,” “The question for me is to increase the level of availability of the ships.” The navy has done this firstly through a significant refresh of its in-service maintenance support activity “We are achieving right now more or less 80% availability for these ships which is really high in terms of maintenance,” said Adm Vaujour the navy has taken steps to exploit this greater availability through generating more sea days “How we used that 80% in the best way was to ‘double crew’ some ships to not only increase the minimum number of days at sea The overall effect of these actions is generating an output similar to having more than 15 ships “I have more than 15 because of ‘dual crewing’ with maximum ship availability That’s how we try to respond to needing more ships at sea France’s 15 ‘first rank’ surface ships include: two Horizon/Forbin-class destroyers; eight Aquitaine-class multi-mission FREMM frigates; and five La Fayette frigates In due course, the La Fayettes will be replaced by five much more capable FDI (Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention) frigates. Lead ship Amiral Ronarc’h is in the water, currently conducting sea trials All five are set for delivery by around 2030 Improving availability across existing platforms is central for many NATO navies in building deterrence through defence capacity to counter the increasing Euro-Atlantic insecurity that has developed around the Russo-Ukraine war and wider Russian activities across the theatre Naval chiefs recognise that force levels take time to build up so the most straightforward way to build presence at sea to underpin deterrence is to increase the availability In terms of increasing availability through reducing maintenance requirements Adm Vaujour cited the incoming FDI ships as an example of how the navy is working increasingly closely with the commercial sector to improve reliability and support processes auxiliary diesel generator sets (gensets) installed on the FDI frigates we will be sure in the future that we will have the spare parts [we need] because the engine on the trucks is exactly the same engine as the [auxiliary genset] of my ship,” said Adm Vaujour A senior French officer warned Australia that owning nuclear-powered subs bought from the US and UK will be "much more difficult" than the plan it scrapped to build a new fleet of conventionally powered boats chief of operations of the joint staff for the French Navy told reporters after meeting with Australian Defense Force Chief General Angus Campbell that the countries are looking to reset their relations after last year's diplomatic fallout "There is a lot of advantage to a nuclear submarine but it means you have to have a big industry supply chains and so on inside your country to be able to operate that," Vaujour was quoted as saying it is much more difficult to have that kind of asset than the classic submarine and for the US that they will find the best way to answer the question," he added Diplomatic relations between France and Australia soured last September when Australia signed the AUKUS deal with the US and UK to get nuclear-powered submarines Australia also canceled its Future Submarine Program (FSP) with France’s Naval Group to buy 12 submarines worth €56 billion ($57.2 billion) The decision irked Macron and his government The three-country agreement was forged to ensure Australia’s security in the region – a growing area of concern due to China's continued economic and military expansion Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that his country will pay the French Naval Group €555 million (about $567 million) in compensation for scrapping the deal the senior French defense official attended a three-day Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense (CHODs) Conference in Sydney along with military leaders from 27 countries Vaujour said the matter between the two countries has been resolved after compensation but that the Australian decision surprised him and that the new deal will be challenging for Canberra You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Indian children missing as boat capsizes near San Diego; Consulate assisting family Vietnamese artist showcases gold powder Buddha painting at UN Vesak Day Inauguration India showcases 2000-year cultural legacy at UN Vesak Day Celebrations in Vietnam "Indian diaspora is seen as constructive positive contributor to respective economies where they are": FM Sitharaman in Milan "Not the time for military confrontation it can become counterproductive": Former Indian diplomat Manju Seth "Issues related to Pakistan were not discussed," says ADB on bilateral meeting with FM Sitharaman "Buddhist connections between India-Vietnam represent very strong element of partnership": Indian envoy Sandeep Arya copyrights © aninews.in | All rights Reserved This is the story of the iconic Bol d’Or 24-hour motorcycle race celebrates its 100th anniversary at the 85th running of the event this weekend that the president of the Association of Former Military Motorcyclists (AFMM) Most members of the AFMM were World War I dispatch riders keen participators in motorcycle events and had difficulty picking up civilian life after the atrocities of the Great War To attract as many paying spectators and entrants as possible Mauve wanted a short-distance track consisting of public roads close to Paris Aimed at amateurs – though he wouldn’t say no to paying professionals on specialist machinery – the 24-hour race was opened up to entries of one rider per motorcycle Mauve found a suitable location northeast of Paris south of where Charles De Gaulle airport sits today Several clay roads connecting the towns of Livry-Gargan Coubron and Clichy-sous-Bois made up the so-called Vaujours Circuit which measured 5.126km The first edition of the Bol d’Or 24 Hour took place over 27-29 May ran from 8.30am Sunday through to 8.30am the following morning Both race categories shared the same rules An average speed of 30km/h had to be maintained during the first three hours Riders were entitled to four hours of rest during the 24-hour period And while the motorcycle category was a solo race the sidecars and cyclecar riders had a choice of either riding with a passenger/mechanic or with 60kg of ballast A total of 17 motorcycles started that first race divided into four classes: bicycles with an engine plus the three motorcycle categories of 250cc the winner of each class was determined by the rider who covered the longest distance during the 24-hour period The first-ever overall Bol d’Or winner was Tony Zind on a 500cc Motosacoche V-twin He covered 1245.628km with an average speed of 51.9km/h Second was Henry Naas on a 500cc Gnome & Rhône (1148.224km) and third was François Clech (1117.498 km) on a Motosolo while a rider entered simply as ‘Laurent’ won the 350cc category with seventh overall Just four of the 17 starters failed to see the finish A total of 12 sidecars and 23 cyclecars made up the field in the second race The sidecar and cyclecar race was won by André Morel with a 1100cc Amilcar cyclecar (1450.658 km while the first sidecar home was steered by Swiss rider Ed Gex on a 1000cc Motosacoche – he finished eighth overall (1153.350 km a total of 17 riders (six sidecars and 11 cyclecars) abandoned the race The first edition attracted 23,000 spectators many of who complained about the lack of off-track entertainment once the monotony of a long-distance endurance race had set in hot and the traffic congestion getting to the circuit put many people off returning So the following year it was moved to the 5.8km-long ‘Les Loges’ circuit a small triangle of roads that ran clockwise around the forest of St the third one wasn’t and had some potholed sections which Mauve figured would add a bit of interest He also reformed the AFMM into the Association Moto-Cyclecariste de France (AMCF) which went on to become France’s biggest race promoter The 5km inner circuit of the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry was chosen The race was now run by an independant organisation which was said to be favouring AMCF riders and led to a boycott; only 19 of the 47 entrants showed up Parisian party-goers found the new location too far to travel and spectator numbers dropped off a cliff Not that the ones who were there had a lot to get excited about – only 10 riders actually finished and most of them took advantage of the four hours of rest beating French Norton rider Gustave Lefèvre – who would go on to become one of the event’s two most successful Bol d’Or riders with seven victories between 1947 and 1957 Norton is the event’s most successful non-Japanese manufacturer to date scoring nine victories between 1935 and 1959 Suzuki is the most successful overall (18 victories between 1980 and 2021) followed by Honda (17 between 1969 and 2018) and Kawasaki (11 between 1974 and 2015) WWII and its aftermath put a hold on Bol d’Or between 1940 and 1946 this time at the popular Saint-German-en-Laye circuit and it’s where Lefèvre took his first of his seven wins In 1949 the race was moved again to Monthléry where it would remain until 1960 The post-war races saw an influx of more modern machinery and British machines entered the race in bigger numbers; brands like Matchless Triumph and Velocette joined the mainland European brands like BMW more and more racing classes were added to the Bol d’Or schedule – some years there was almost a 50 percent chance for every team to score a class victory and sometimes riders simply stopped racing during the night to sleep Visitor numbers dwindled and the once-famous Bol d’Or slowly but surely packed into insignificance After 1960 the organizers called it quits for almost a decade The Bol d’Or had lost its appeal and the organisers decided not to host it again in 1961 That hiatus would last until September 1969 Because by then the world had changed and a new racing class the Bol d’Or would also re-emerge – but only for French riders rode a Honda CR750 works machine – the race version of the hugely successful CB750 Four – to first place the competition from the Kawasaki 500cc two-strokes was more than fierce but Rougerie and Urdich covered 2803km on their way to victory The 1970 Bol d’Or was open to all nationalities and the last time the 24-hour event would be held at Monthléry History was written when Tom Dickie and Paul Smart rode a Triumph 750 works triple to a new record of 2959.3km at an average speed of 123.201km/h with the race now moved to famous Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans Ray Pickrell and Percy Tait won the 35th Bol d’Or with a BSA 750cc triple with a 2723.95km race averaging 113.495 km/h Augusto Bretttoni and Sergio Angliolini on a Laverda SFC750 finished only seven laps behind with Vittorio Brambilla and Guido Mandracci another four laps behind them riding a a prototype V7 Sport racer with a capacity of 850cc Guzzi was thrilled and went on to baptise its 1975 850cc sports range ‘Le Mans’ as a result Honda wasn’t pleased with the Kawasaki success and unleashed its RCB1000 for the 1976 endurance season A race-long battle emerged in the Bol d’Or that year Not even five Kawasaki teams –made up of Jacques Luc and Alain Vial as well as Jean-Francois Balde and Yvon DuHamel– could not prevent RCB1000 riders Jean-Claude Chemarin and Alex George from winning the race their race-winning distance was the first time more than 3000km was covered during a 24-hour race and the pair smashed it averaging 134.797km/h to cover 3235.125km by race end They backed it up with another victory in 1977 and year later repeated their success but this time on the 5.809km Circuit Paul Ricard where the event remained until 1999 Magny-Cours played host to the iconic 24-hour race before returning to Paul Ricard where it remains today At the 46th Bangkok International Motor Show adventure-ready scooters and enough two-wheeled wonders to make Aussie riders green with envy Global motorcycle event to raise funds and awareness for men’s health returns bigger than ever as well as soaking up all the on-track action at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit there’s a swag of other activities and attractions to keep you entertained A white hot wheatbelt tour of WA’s Federation pubs on a rollicking Roctane Yet another tick off The Bear’s all-time bucket list The take-up of electric motorcycles is nowhere near what many predicted which is why Royal Enfield is taking a slightly different approach with its forthcoming EV platform Check out AMCN’s Rallies & Shows Update August 2024 for a selection of motorcycle events taking place all over Australia If you have an event you would like us to… There are a heap of motorcycle rallies & shows set to take place from this weekend through to the end of the year Rallies and Shows Registrations have opened for the 2024 Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride to be held on 19 May 27-28 APRIL All British Rally The 2023 Walcha Motorcycle Rally will be held at Walcha Showground Camping will be open from 12pm Thursday; and welcome drinks are… AMCN took part in the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) again this year suiting up in what was a very wild and windy Wollongong Australia’s largest adventure motorcycle event  We all watch the Dakar and wonder… CAMP QUALITY’S MOTOCYC 2023 is the perfect excuse to explore the rugged beauty of Australia on a motorbike Here’s a quick look back at the 2021 event Australian Motorcycle News has been the fortnightly bible for all things motorcycling for more than 73 years the most in-depth racing coverage from club level through to world championship level and it’s written by people who love © 2024 Citrus MediaAll rights reserved Discussions held on issues of mutual #strategicinterest #securitychallenges in the #IOR and furthering maritime collaboration duly affirming the significant progress in bilateral #DefenceCooperation between both nations." India and France have traditionally close and friendly relations according to the Ministry of External Affairs the two countries entered into Strategic Partnership which is emblematic of their convergence of views on a range of international issues apart from a close and growing bilateral relationship space cooperation and civil nuclear cooperation constitute the three principal pillars of the Strategic Partnership between India and France External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the visiting Chairman of the French Senate Gerard Larcher on Tuesday held "a fruitful discussion on the India-France strategic partnership" The two leaders also engaged in talks over the convergence on a number of global issues."Pleased to meet the visiting Parliamentary delegation headed by @gerard_larcher A fruitful discussion on the India-France strategic partnership and the convergence on so many global issues," EAM Jaishankar said in a post on X French Senate Chairman Larcher was on an official visit to India on February 19 and 20 accompanied by a delegation of five senators the French Embassy in India said.On January 19 Larcher met Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar at Parliament House and discussed strengthening parliamentary exchanges between the two countries The discussions between the Chairman of the French Senate and Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar also centred on building close economic and cultural cooperation Poliovirus detected in sewage samples of 18 districts of Pakistan China's expanding global espionage network under scrutiny For more information, please read Privacy policy The Chief of Staff of the Gabonese National Navy, Bekale Hubert, said it was a priority for all countries around the GoG to be united and secure the region. No fewer than 30 heads of navies and coastguards of the Gulf of Guinea have arrived in Abuja for the 8th edition symposium on maritime environment being hosted by the Nigerian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, disclosed this on Tuesday night at Transcorp Hilton. Mr Ogalla said the symposium’s objective was to discuss issues that affect maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea as a strategic sea route.He said the region also hosted a lot of resources, particularly oil and gas. According to him, it behooves the navies and coastguards of the GoG to ensure that they provide an enabling environment by providing the security necessary for businesses to thrive. The ambassador-designate of the European Union, Gautier Mignot, said the event was organised to look at the kind of support they could garner to tackle insecurity in the region. Mr Mignot commended Mr Ogalla and the Nigerian Navy for organising the event with great attendance from countries from the GoG and European countries. He said it was key to support the African strategy known as the ‘Yaoundé Architecture for maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea’. The Chief of the French Navy, Nicolas Vaujour, said the French navy had been working with its partners to implement and reinforce maritime security. Mr Vaujour said the French navy had also conducted exercises with the Nigerian navy to connect, adding that it had helped them share information and find solutions. He called for pooling forces and information sharing to strengthen the fight against maritime crime. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices “Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.” He mentioned that 10 kilometres of the Sokoto-Badagry road project would also be inaugurated before May 25 Mr Trump has threatened certain unauthorised immigrants with prosecution Twenty fellows will be selected—ten from the African continent and ten from the global African diaspora Mr Bwala argued that another achievement of Mr Tinubu’s government is the increased monthly allocation to states Dangote expressed confidence that the new leadership of NNPC Limited will propel the country’s energy industry to new heights and respect for constitutional rights are foundational pillars of the Nigerian Republic © 2025 Peoples Gazette™ Limited Even the most modest of us can be driven insane by love How far would you go to help your true love if they needed it What if they asked you to break the law to help them This riveting tale of escape has all the right ingredients of a gripping folk tale: drama Michel Vaujour wasn't your run-of-the-mill bank robber who had landed himself in the clink owing to unfortunate circumstances. By 1986, he still had 28 years to serve in a Parisian prison for armed robbery and attempted murder of a police officer in a heist gone wrong (per Time) the helicopter landed on the soccer field of a student dormitory in the southern part of Paris and the two hopped into a waiting getaway car (per The New York Times) how did the fortunes of these two daring lovers fare in the end it's easy to imagine that there would have been a lot of heat following the Vaujours in the months following their remarkable aerial escape Unfortunately, it's unclear what happened to Nadine once she seemingly vanished from history, but one thing is certain: Despite such a famous gesture of love, she and Michel separated before he was released from prison (per Unifrance).