Bookseller Keeps Paris Plush with Teddy Bears

Philippe Labourel, who wants to be named "Le papa des nounours", "Teddy Bear father", stands next to a giant teddy bear in a bar, in Paris, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP)
Philippe Labourel, who wants to be named "Le papa des nounours", "Teddy Bear father", stands next to a giant teddy bear in a bar, in Paris, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP)
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Bookseller Keeps Paris Plush with Teddy Bears

Philippe Labourel, who wants to be named "Le papa des nounours", "Teddy Bear father", stands next to a giant teddy bear in a bar, in Paris, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP)
Philippe Labourel, who wants to be named "Le papa des nounours", "Teddy Bear father", stands next to a giant teddy bear in a bar, in Paris, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP)

A bookshop owner has found a way to keep people in Paris feeling plush during the depressing days of the coronavirus pandemic: giant teddy bears.

Philippe Labourel has been lending out oversized stuffed animals since October 2018. Since the pandemic cut short public life in the French capital last year, the bookseller's bears have been spotted sitting at a bus stop and in shops to remind customers of social distancing rules.

“Don’t ask me why I did it in the first place, but I decided to loan the bears everywhere to make people smile,” Labourel said.

At up to 2.5-meters-tall (over 8 feet), the teddy bears cause people to stop and stare in wonder.

Labourel’s bookshop and “bear cave,” is situated in the Gobelins district, in the south of Paris. The bear-giver maintains a mysterious air to add to the unexpected delight that comes with encountering one of his cuddly creatures.

He said he has acquired many more bears since last year, but will not say from where or how many make up his soft arsenal.

“Since the virus, I’ve been giving them out to many areas across the city,” Labourel said. “I’m trying to give children a little bit of joy. It’s a huge success.”



An Uncontrolled Wildfire Sends a Cloud of Smoke over Spain’s Capital

 A firefighting plane drops water during efforts to extinguish a wildfire near Navalcarnero, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (A. Pérez Meca/Europa Press via AP)
A firefighting plane drops water during efforts to extinguish a wildfire near Navalcarnero, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (A. Pérez Meca/Europa Press via AP)
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An Uncontrolled Wildfire Sends a Cloud of Smoke over Spain’s Capital

 A firefighting plane drops water during efforts to extinguish a wildfire near Navalcarnero, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (A. Pérez Meca/Europa Press via AP)
A firefighting plane drops water during efforts to extinguish a wildfire near Navalcarnero, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (A. Pérez Meca/Europa Press via AP)

An uncontrolled wildfire burned outside Madrid on Thursday, sending a giant cloud of smoke over the Spanish capital.

The fire broke out in the town of Mentrida in central Spain's Castile-La Mancha region about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital. Local authorities urged residents to stay home and close their windows.

Spanish authorities said the blaze had burned around 3,000 hectares (roughly 7,400 acres) by the late evening.

Firefighters deployed on the ground and in the air were working to extinguish the fire that began around 3 pm.

Wind blew the smoke over Madrid, where in the afternoon skies turned orange and thick with smoke.

Large parts of Spain are under heat and fire warnings, with temperatures on Thursday reaching 37 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in Madrid.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, which makes places more vulnerable to wildfires.