PARIS: Police have arrested three people after five coffins were found near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, draped in French flags with the inscription “French soldiers in Ukraine,” sources close to the case said Sunday.
The incident is being investigated as a possible interference by a foreign power in French affairs, they told AFP.
Around 9:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) on Saturday, three people left the five life-size coffins on the Quai Branly in Paris near the base of the Eiffel Tower, one of the world's most visited tourist attractions.
The boxes contained gypsum, a source close to the case told AFP.
The driver of a van used to transport the coffins, who was arrested nearby, told police that he had been paid 40 euros ($43) to drive the two others and their cargo, the source said.
The man was believed to have arrived from Bulgaria the evening before.
The two others were apprehended later Saturday across town at the Bercy coach terminal where they were about to board a service to Berlin, the source said.
One of the three people was Bulgarian, another Ukrainian and the third German, the source said. They were still in custody on Sunday.
President Emmanuel Macron said last month the question of sending Western troops to Ukraine would “legitimately” arise if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines and Kyiv made such a request.
The president was doubling down on earlier comments in which he did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, which sent shock waves through much of Europe and unsettled allies including Germany.
The Kremlin slammed the remarks, calling them “dangerous.”
French authorities have suspected foreign — notably Russian — interference in domestic affairs in several other recent incidents, including last month when red hand graffiti was painted onto France's Holocaust Memorial.
The three suspects in that case are believed to have fled abroad.
France suspects that Russia was behind another high-profile incident, the daubing of dozens of Stars of David on buildings in Paris and its suburbs shortly after the October 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel.
Investigators said some of the mass graffiti, widely condemned as anti-Semitic, may have been carried out at the “express demand” of an individual residing abroad, implying a possible connection to Russia.
Moscow has denied having anything to do with it.
France arrests three after coffins left at Eiffel Tower
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France arrests three after coffins left at Eiffel Tower
- The incident is being investigated as a possible interference by a foreign power in French affairs
Police video shows Vince McMahon’s 100 mph car crash in Connecticut
Newly released police video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon ram his luxury sportscar into the rear end of another vehicle on a Connecticut highway last summer as he was being followed by a state trooper.
McMahon, now 80, was driving his 2024 Bentley Continental GT at more than 100 mph on the Merritt Parkway when he crashed in the town of Westport, according to state police.
A trooper’s dashcam video shows McMahon accelerating away, then braking too late to avoid crashing into the back of a BMW. The Bentley then swerves into a guardrail and careens back across the highway, creating a cloud of dirt and car parts.
“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” state police Detective Maxwell Robins asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley, which can cost over $300,000.
“I got my granddaughter’s birthday” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.
No one was seriously injured in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day that WWE legend Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.
Besides damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, according to the police video.
McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. A state judge in October allowed McMahon to enter a pretrial probation program that will result in the charges being erased from his record next October if he successfully completes the program. He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution.
McMahon’s lawyer, Mark Sherman, said the crash was just an accident.
“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”
State police said Robins was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape — though in the video the detective suggests otherwise.
“I’m trying to catch up to you and you keep taking off,” Robins says.
“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon says.
An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.
The Associated Press obtained the videos Wednesday through a public records request. They were first obtained by The Sun newspaper.
The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and adds that he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.
After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too fast.”
The videos also show McMahon talking to the driver he rear-ended. Barbara Doran, of New York City, told the AP last summer that McMahon expressed his concern for her and was glad she was OK. She said she was heading to a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard at the time of the crash.
After McMahon was given the traffic summons, he shook hands with Robins and another trooper and they wished him well.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.
McMahon bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982 and transformed it from a regional wrestling company into a worldwide phenomenon. Besides running the company with his wife, Linda, who is now the US education secretary, he also performed at WWE events as himself.
