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Medical fees, eco-grants, gas prices: 5 changes this May in France
We also include the French income tax declaration deadlines for residents and second-home owners and other dates coming up
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Storms on way for much of France. Will the cold spell continue?
We also share videos and photos of last weekend's dramatic weather in the south-west and east
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Paris hospital dog trial goes from strength to strength
An English setter rescue dog at one of the world’s top cancer hospitals in Paris has been described as “a bubble of oxygen”
Town urges return of precious saint’s head
Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche in Nouvelle-Aquitaine is demanding the return from New York of a precious medieval bust of the saint who evangelised the area.
The bust – made to hold part of the skull of Saint Aredius – is thought to have been sold off by the priest in 1905 and replaced by a copy, into which the relics were moved. It is brought out every seven years to be venerated.
However the council says it was already a listed historic monument and communal property.
New research suggests the 13th century piece in silver, gold and semi-precious stones (below) was sold to a Paris dealer who had a copy made. It was acquired by an American who gave it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the context of the 1905 church/state separation law, it is thought some priests were persuaded to sell treasures, rather than see them in state ownership.
