The complex issue of looted Chinese art restitution

As Chinese President Xi Jinping visits France to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Le Monde takes a look back at the fate of objects stolen from Beijing by French troops during the sack of the Summer Palace in 1860.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, April 6, 2023.

JEAN-CLAUDE COUTAUSSE FOR LE MONDE

Ukraine and trade tensions to dominate Xi's France visit

HATEM KHALED / REUTERS

Israel army evacuates 100,000 Rafah residents ahead of expected ground assault

Aerial view showing houses destroyed by floods in Roca Sales, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on May 5, 2024.

GUSTAVO GHISLENI / AFP

Rescue effort continues as death toll in Brazil floods climbs to 78

At least 150,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, with more than 3,000 rescue personnel on the scene still trying to reach trapped residents.

In a retirement home in Broby (Sweden), February 1, 2023

SERGEI GAPON / AFP

Sweden's social model is on its last legs

In schools, hospitals and nursing homes, employees complain of worsening working conditions. Meanwhile new budget cuts are being announced by local and regional authorities, whose deficits are exploding.

VINCENT CURUTCHET / Caisse d’épargne

Keeping the Olympic flame alive aboard the 'Belem'

Three sailors take continuous turns on the French boat to ensure that the sacred fire, protected inside a lantern, is never extinguished, in accordance with the strict protocol.

Jordan Bardella, at the European Parliament, on January 16, 2024, in Strasbourg.

In Depth

Clément Guillou

At the European Parliament, the French far right has deliberately done nothing

For five years, almost all of the Rassemblement National's members of the European Parliament have shunned responsibilities. They are described as lacking the will and skills, but it is also a part of their political strategy.

6 min read

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Paris 2024: Students left unsure of their fate after agency requisitions accommodation for Olympic Games

Thousands rally for trans rights in France after Senate report

Ukraine marks its third Easter at war under fire from Russian drones

Panama's president-elect José Raul Mulino celebrates with supporters after winning Panama's presidential election in Panama City on May 5, 2024.

José Raul Mulino wins Panama presidential race

Madonna puts on biggest-ever concert for free on Brazil's Copacabana beach

Israel orders Al Jazeera to close its Jerusalem office, seizes equipment

England's Conservatives crushed by Labour in local elections

Fashion finds firm footing in Marseille

The first time Le Monde wrote Aya Nakamura

Gaza protests at Sciences Po: 'This could all go up in flames if there's no dialogue'

Editor’s Picks

A man withdraws cash from a Bank of Palestine ATM in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 2018.

Long Read

Benjamin Barthe and Louis Imbert

Gaza's banks targeted by armed groups

Palestinian armed groups, including one claiming to be from Hamas, stole a total of €66 million from the safes of several of the city's bank branches in April. Le Monde found that the Israeli army also seized funds.

5 min read

Times Square, in New York City, United States, on April 7, 2024.

Long Read

Arnaud Leparmentier

Europeans can't afford the US anymore

Boosted by growth, prices and wages have taken off in the US. The gap with European living standards has never been wider.

10 min read

Visual Story

Nicolas Chapuis and Thomas Saintourens

A drug trafficker comes clean: 'I know I'm dead, they're going to put contracts all over my head'

For two years, Kamel worked for one of France's biggest drug traffickers, Abdelkader Bouguettaia, alias 'Bibi.' Arrested after a container was searched in the port of Le Havre, he has provided investigators with an avalanche of information.

Infographic