French Rock Group Indochine Plays COVID Trial Gig in Paris

People cheer during a concert of French DJ Etienne de Crecy and
rock band Indochine, aimed at assessing the risk of COVID-19
transmission at live events, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris,
France, May 29, 2021. (AFP Photo)
People cheer during a concert of French DJ Etienne de Crecy and rock band Indochine, aimed at assessing the risk of COVID-19 transmission at live events, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, May 29, 2021. (AFP Photo)
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French Rock Group Indochine Plays COVID Trial Gig in Paris

People cheer during a concert of French DJ Etienne de Crecy and
rock band Indochine, aimed at assessing the risk of COVID-19
transmission at live events, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris,
France, May 29, 2021. (AFP Photo)
People cheer during a concert of French DJ Etienne de Crecy and rock band Indochine, aimed at assessing the risk of COVID-19 transmission at live events, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, May 29, 2021. (AFP Photo)

Starved of live music for the past year, fans of veteran French rock band Indochine on Saturday got the chance to see their idols in concert, all in the name of Covid-19 research.

Around 5,000 concert goers were taking part in the experimental event at Paris's Bercy concert hall. A further 2,500 volunteers who did not attend the concert will be used as a comparison group.

The trial to assess the risk of Covid transmission at events has been eagerly awaited by the live music and entertainment sector which has been devastated by Covid-19.

"It's been so long that we have waited for a reopening of this kind of event. So finding a concert, in addition to it being Indochine, is really great," Camille, 26, from the Paris region, said, AFP reported.

Before being admitted, the concert goers, all aged between 18 and 45 with no special risk factors, handed over an envelope containing a saliva test done earlier on Saturday.

Each person was also required to have had a negative antigen test in the last three days.

Once inside, no social distancing was required but masks were compulsory.

Due to the 9 pm curfew still in place in France, the concert took earlier than normal with Indochine on stage by 6 pm.

Similar trials have already taken place elsewhere in Europe and the Bercy concert had been postponed a number of times.



UN Teams Deploy to Syrian Coast over Wildfires

An emergency responder with the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, works to extinguish a wildfire in the town of Rabia, in Latakia province, Syria, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
An emergency responder with the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, works to extinguish a wildfire in the town of Rabia, in Latakia province, Syria, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
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UN Teams Deploy to Syrian Coast over Wildfires

An emergency responder with the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, works to extinguish a wildfire in the town of Rabia, in Latakia province, Syria, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
An emergency responder with the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, works to extinguish a wildfire in the town of Rabia, in Latakia province, Syria, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

United Nations teams have deployed Sunday to the Syrian coast, where firefighters are battling wildfires for a fourth day.

UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria Adam Abdelmoula said in a statement that the fast-spreading blazes in the northwestern province of Latakia “have forced hundreds of families to flee their homes, while vast tracts of agricultural land and vital infrastructure have been destroyed.”

UN teams are “conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the disaster and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs,” he said, The AP news reported.

Firefighting teams from Türkiye and Jordan have joined Syrian civil defense teams, providing support from the air with helicopters. Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported that emergency crews are attempting to prevent the blazes from reaching the al-Frunloq natural reserve, with its “large, interconnected forests.”

Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh called the situation “extremely tragic.”

In a statement posted on X, he said the fires had destroyed “hundreds of thousands of trees” covering an area estimated at 10,000 hectares.

“We regret and mourn every tree that burned, which was a source of fresh air for us,” al-Saleh said.

The Syrian Civil Defense had expressed concerns over the presence of unexploded ordnance left over from the country’s nearly 14-year civil war in some of the wildfire areas.

Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions.

Below-average rainfalls over the winter have also left Syrians struggling with water shortages this summer, as the springs and rivers that normally supply much of the population with drinking water have gone dry.