Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
France played its part in one of the most memorable finishes in World Cup history, even though the defending champions failed to retain the title.
Kylian Mbappe's hat trick of goals all came late -- first in regulation, then in extra time -- and helped give France a 3-3 draw with Argentina in the final.
In the penalty shootout, it seemed destined for Lionel Messi to win his first World Cup at the age of 35, not Mbappe to win his second at 23.
Still, the foundations of France's national soccer team are solid with just under four years to go until the next World Cup in 2026.
France outperformed expectations even as the defending champion and the world's fourth-ranked team.
A run of poor results in the UEFA Nations League, including a home loss in June to Denmark, plus a litany of injuries before and after the squad for Qatar was selected kept high hopes in check.
Then, in the last training session before the flight to Doha, forward Christopher Nkunku was injured by a teammate.
It got worse in Qatar. Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema was forced out of the squad because of an injury and then Lucas Hernandez, the left back in the 2018 team, picked up a season-ending knee injury nine minutes into France's first game against Australia.
France persevered and got better as the team passed through the knockout rounds -- against Poland, England and Morocco.
The record now under France coach Didier Deschamps of two World Cup finals and a quarterfinal, plus a European Championship final and a UEFA Nations League title is truly impressive.
"I'm optimistic about the future," said Deschamps, who has expertly mixed youth and experience in his teams. "A lot of players have played in many of those tournaments and have got experience."
Only four of the 26 players in the squad has turned 30 and Deschamps has made clear he wants to sign the contract extension the French soccer federation says it wants to offer.
This year's World Cup could be the last for Olivier Giroud, who at 36 took the central striker role left by Benzema and broke Thierry Henry's all-time France scoring record.
Giroud ended the tournament with four goals and now has 53, two ahead of Henry. Mbappe has 36 and could take the record before the 2026 World Cup.
Benzema turns 35 on Monday, and captain Hugo Lloris has his 36th birthday one week later. At 31, and after a standout World Cup, Antoine Griezmann can look toward another World Cup.
Deschamps is still only 54 and looks far from fatigued in his 11th year on the job.
The next generation of players to revitalize Les Bleus is already at the World Cup.
Several made debuts this year and their progress in Qatar was accelerated by all the injuries and illness to long-established players.
Aurelien Tchouameni was joined by former Monaco teammate Youssouf Fofana in an emergency midfield pairing, and 21-year Arsenal defender William Saliba also got playing time.
If Lloris does step down, 27-year-old Mike Maignan is primed to add to his handful of international games. A domestic league winner at both Lille and AC Milan, Maignan also was injured and missed the World Cup.
Nkunku, now 25, will move to Chelsea next season after four years at Leipzig and impressing in the Champions League.
On March 24, France will host the Netherlands at Stade de France to start one of the toughest European Championship qualifying groups.
A clash between the World Cup finalists and quarterfinalists is the most anticipated game on the schedule when national teams return to action in three months.
Greece, Ireland and Gibraltar are also in the group, which plays through November and will send two teams directly to Euro 2024 in Germany.
France also has available dates in September and October for friendly games against teams from outside Europe.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war.
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.