LAFC trades Kwadwo Opoku for $1.75 million in general allocation money

• July 6, 2023

The Los Angeles Football Club traded forward Kwadwo “Mahala” Opoku to Montreal on Wednesday for $1.75 million in general allocation money.

All but $100,000 of that figure applies to 2023. The remainder was slotted for 2024.

In a separate transaction with Montreal, LAFC also acquired a 2023 international roster slot for $100,000 in 2024 GAM.

The transaction marks the largest general allocation money deal in LAFC history, bringing in a half-million dollars more than the trade that sent All-Star defender Walker Zimmerman to Nashville prior to the 2020 MLS season.

As the summer transfer window opens July 5, selling Opoku, who turns 22 next week, provides significant financial flexibility for LAFC (9-6-5, 32 points).

“Mahala has been an incredible story and an important player for us over the last few years,” LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington said in a statement announcing the deal. “These decisions are never easy but are at times necessary. It has been great to watch him grow and develop as a player on the field and a person off the pitch. We are grateful for all of his contributions to LAFC and wish him the best of luck in his career.”

LAFC signed Opoku, then 19, from the Attram De Visser Soccer Academy in Ghana in October 2020.

He debuted during LAFC’s 2020 CONCACAF Champions League run, scoring a late game-winning goal in a quarterfinal victory over Cruz Azul.

The quick-footed Ghanian scored twice in the 2023 CCL tournament, and departs LAFC as the club’s third-leading goal scorer in the continental competition.

Opoku appeared in 60 MLS regular-season matches, starting 35. He scored nine goals and added seven assists.

He rebounded well after missing most of 2021 following surgery on his left knee.

During last year’s successful push to the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup, Opoku appeared in every regular-season match.

In 19 league appearances this season, he scored twice and registered two assists.

Mahala had requested a guarantee of regular minutes this year and was seeking a boost in his compensation. He was set to make $257,288 in guaranteed pay in 2023, according to figures released by the MLS player’s association.

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​ Orange County Register 

Beaches trashed after July 4th crowds depart

• July 6, 2023

Whoops, a few people forgot to pack up their massive pop tents. And another person left behind a big barbeque on the beach.

Revelers who packed the coast on the Fourth of July also left behind countless pieces of plastics and trash littering beaches across Southern California.

Volunteers on July 5 — considered the dirtiest beach day of the year — set out armed with bags and gloves at Venice Beach, San Pedro, Huntington Beach and Doheny State Beach in an attempt to put a dent in the debris left by the hundreds of thousands of partiers who showed up throughout the holiday weekend. More clean-ups this weekend will be held to scoop up what’s still left behind.

Surfrider Foundation held cleanups from San Diego to San Francisco and beaches in between. In Huntington Beach, hundreds of people showed up ready to work, helping the State Parks clean-up crew who started gathering trash early in the morning.

“It was a mess,” said KC Fockler, education coordinator for the North Orange County chapter. “It’s almost heart-wrenching.”

There were beer and soda cans, chip bags, fireworks and plenty of plastics. One surprise was the number of plastic bottles on the beach, which in recent years hasn’t been seen as much, he said.

Plucking trash off the beach is important, not just so the region’s pristine beaches don’t look like a dump but also to protect the wildlife that call the coast home.

“The beach is the last defense from all the trash before it hits the ocean,” he said. “It affects the environment not only in the ocean, all the birds, the nesting birds … even little kids, crawling around in the sand, picking up other people’s garbage and trash. It’s a shame it ends up like that.”

The North OC Surfrider chapter in the past six months has removed 20,000 pounds of trash. Fockler said an estimated 1,200 pounds were scooped up on July 5.

“It’s important we have clean beaches for everybody to enjoy,” he said.

Richard Busch, North OC chapter co-chair, said it was “plastic galore” out on the beach. But he was encouraged by the number of people who mobilized to help.

“It tells me people genuinely care and want to make sure the beaches are clean and enjoyable for people,” he said. “They don’t want the beaches to be trashed.”

That’s exactly why Brooke and Jake Caouette brought their three young kids to Doheny State Beach on July 5, armed with a bucket, trash pickers and metal detectors.

They rode their bikes down on the Fourth of July and saw the hoards of people, knowing their favorite beach would be trashed the following day.

“It’s just the dirtiest day,” Brooke Caouette said. “We usually try to come down after storms and big holidays.”

Among the debris was a lot of plastics like little straw wrappers from juice boxes and utensils.

“A lot of people come from far and set up their picnics and just leave at the end of the night when it’s dark and they can’t see what they left behind,” she said.

For those who want to help, it’s not too late. There are upcoming clean-ups scheduled for this weekend.

Orange County Coastkeeper will host volunteers on July 8 for a beach cleanup at Huntington State Beach.

Coastkeeper staff predicts over 300 pounds will be removed from the beach during the two-hour event that kicks off at 9 a.m. at Huntington State Beach. Meet at tower 9.

Stand Up to Trash will be hosting a beach clean-up starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday, July 9, in the Dana Point Harbor. Meet near the Ocean Institute for the “Plastic Free July” event, with a guest speaker at 10:30 a.m. from Eco Now Refill Store in Laguna Beach.

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​ Orange County Register 

They’re called ‘100-year floods.’ But they’re likely becoming more frequent, study says.

• July 5, 2023

A new study released last week shows that some “100-year flood” estimates may not reflect a changing climate.

First Street Foundation, a research and technology nonprofit that studies and collects data on climate risks, released its eighth National Risk Assessment: “The Precipitation Problem.”

Many climate and weather groups gauge extreme rain events as a “100-year flood” or a “1-in-100-year-flood.” Also known as a “100-year recurrence interval,” this means that a flood of that magnitude has a 1% chance of happening in any year.

According to the new study, roughly 21% of the country can now expect their “1-in-100 year flood” to happen every 25 years. In the most extreme cases, over 20 counties are expected to experience the current “1-in-100 year flood” severe event at least once every 8-10 years.

The study says many Americans, more than half, live in an area that is twice as likely to experience such a rain event than is predicted by Atlas 14 — is a peer-reviewed record of precipitation frequency estimates for the United States produced by the National Weather Service. Every few years, the program gets updated, and the Atlas 15 is expected to be complete by 2027.

“Atlases were developed based on the temporal stationarity of precipitation, which assumes that the occurrence probability of extreme precipitations is not expected to change over time,” a portion of the study reads. “However, climate change has altered the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation over time, and most climate models project that the features of extreme precipitation will continue to grow throughout the 21st century.”

Data from the study will be integrated into Risk Factor’s platform by the end of the month. Risk Factor’s data tools allow users to search for their home or ZIP code to view environmental changes and risks of major natural events, such as floods or fire. For example, if a 100-year flood occurred today in Norfolk’s 23507 ZIP code, it could affect 669 properties. This type of event has a 26% chance of occurring at least once over the life of a 30-year mortgage. About 30 years from now, an event of this same likelihood would affect 1,178 properties, due to a changing environment. According to the study, the change in return period for Hampton Roads is closer to 1 in 20 years.

“The magnitude of the changes in expected rainfall intensity are startling for many areas in the United States, and it is important that Americans are fully aware of this consequence of climate change that can impact their lives and homes,” Jungho Kim, First Street Foundation’s senior hydrologist and lead author of the peer-reviewed study, said in a statement.

Researchers said that because a lot of federal funding programs use Atlas 14 data to distribute money, there could be issues with getting the most accurate assessments on damage costs. According to Atlas 14, a 100-year flood in Norfolk would be a rain event during which 9.2 inches fall within a 24-hour period.

“The fact that the nation will not have the most accurate estimates of extreme precipitation likelihoods available at the time of the design of (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) projects means that many of them will be out of date on the day they are opened to the public,” Matthew Eby, founder and executive director of First Street Foundation, said.

Eliza Noe, [email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

A new law is supposed to protect pregnant workers — but what if we don’t know how?

• July 5, 2023

Gina Jiménez | Kaiser Health News (TNS)

Vanessa Langness had always been a bit worried about the chemicals she worked with as a biomedical researcher, but when she got pregnant in October, her concerns grew. The 34-year-old based in Santa Maria, California, suspected the ethidium bromide she was using in the lab for molecular cloning could put her and her baby at risk.

She wasn’t sure what to do; she was only a few weeks into her pregnancy and didn’t know how it would affect her career.

“Women are taught: You aren’t supposed to tell people until after the first trimester,” she said. “But that’s actually a really delicate stage for the formation of the baby.”

Langness did some research online but couldn’t find much information on what kind of extra precautions she should take because of her pregnancy. Without realizing it, she had stumbled upon an often overlooked area of science and medicine: the occupational health of pregnant workers. Those who are pregnant often face hazardous circumstances doing jobs in which they must lift heavy objects, stand for long periods, or, like Langness, work with chemicals.

At the end of last year, Congress approved the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a law that requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to those who are pregnant. But the new law, which took effect June 27, has a big hole in it: Public health experts say not nearly enough is known about which work circumstances are dangerous for pregnancies, especially when chemical exposures are involved. That’s because occupational health studies overwhelmingly have been centered on men, and so have the health and safety standards based on those studies.

“A pregnant person’s physiology is very different from a nonpregnant person,” said Carissa Rocheleau, an epidemiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. “A lot of our existing permissible exposure limits date back to 1970. In the studies they based the limits on, there were very few women in general and even fewer pregnant women, if any.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ guidance for employment considerations during pregnancy says that very few chemical compounds “have been sufficiently studied to draw conclusions about potential reproductive harms.”

Even though the data is sparse, several physiological factors suggest pregnant workers face higher health risks from chemical exposures than other adults, said Julia Varshavsky, a Northeastern University environmental health scientist focused on maternal and child health. And chemical exposures during pregnancy can be dangerous not just for the prospective parent, but also for the fetus, which can absorb toxins through the placenta.

For one thing, blood volume increases during pregnancy because the body is working overtime to supply the fetus with the oxygen and nutrients it needs to develop. Such blood-flow expansion can make those who are pregnant susceptible to developing high blood pressure. Some studies also suggest a link between exposure to lead during pregnancy and high blood pressure.

Pregnancy also considerably alters a person’s metabolism; the body prioritizes breaking down fats instead of sugars to preserve the sugar for the developing fetus. Especially after the first trimester, those who are pregnant have high blood sugar and must double their insulin production to keep it under control. It’s risky for them to be exposed to chemicals such as PFAS that have been linked to insulin resistance, a condition in which cells don’t respond to insulin anymore.

Finally, those who are pregnant are also especially susceptible to a category of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors. Estrogen is the hormone responsible for promoting the body’s changes during pregnancy. When endocrine disruptors enter the body, they mimic those hormones and can increase the risk of certain pregnancy-related health conditions, such as preeclampsia.

But despite these known risks, the occupational health of pregnant women has often been understudied, especially as women have entered more diverse areas of work.

“Occupational health really assumes a neutral body worker,” said Swati Rayasam, a public health scientist at the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California-San Francisco. By concentrating on this “neutral body worker,” occupational health as a field has overlooked the other stressors workers can face, either internal stressors, such as pregnancy, or external stressors, such as psychosocial stress due to racism or food insecurity, Rayasam said.

It also is tough to study those who are pregnant. It is unethical to expose them to even the slightest amount of chemicals, so research protocols are highly restricted. And very few occupational health surveys include enough pregnant workers to draw reliable conclusions about the unique risks they face.

Langness, the biomedical researcher in California, had a miscarriage while working in the lab. She later decided to change jobs, although she doesn’t know if the chemicals had anything to do with the loss of the baby.

The lack of research doesn’t affect only current pregnancies but also leaves women who have already been exposed with lots of questions. They include Leticia Mendoza, a 38-year-old woman who lives in Oakland, California. She said she was exposed to pesticides when she worked pruning strawberries while pregnant. When her baby was born, he did not crawl until he was 1 year old and started walking after he turned 2.

“I thought he was going to start talking when he was 3, but he still doesn’t, and he is 5,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza’s child has been diagnosed with autism.

Although researchers have studied potential links between pesticide exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders, the evidence is not conclusive, which complicates proving in a court what caused the harm, said Sharon Sagiv, an associate adjunct professor in environmental epidemiology at the University of California-Berkeley.

Advocates hope the new federal law will give workers a little more leverage when they raise concerns about risks on the job. “We really just want them to be able to have a conversation with their employer without facing retaliation or being forced on unpaid leave,” said Kameron Dawson, a senior staff attorney for A Better Balance, a workers’ advocacy organization that pushed for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act for over a decade.

But although some of the regulations might lead to better accommodations for pregnant workers, that depends partly on the employer or a union knowing what can represent a risk. “It’s not rocket science, but it does take effort on the employer’s side to understand what in their workplace could be hazardous,” said Gillian Thomas, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.

In the past, women have sometimes been forbidden from working while pregnant, so a delicate balance must be struck between protecting them and their pregnancies and not removing them from the workforce. “It’s tricky because, for many women, this is their livelihood,” said Sagiv.

Some researchers believe studying the enhanced risks faced in pregnancy may result in more protective regulations that would help the wider public.

“If we really try to protect the most vulnerable workers in the workplace, we’re protecting everybody,” Rocheleau said.

This article was produced by KFF Health News , which publishes California Healthline , an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation .

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

©2023 Kaiser Health News. Visit khn.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Los Alamitos actress who starred in ‘Smallville’ out of prison for role in sex-trafficking cult

• July 5, 2023

The television actor Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty for her role in a sex-trafficking case tied to the cult-like group NXIVM, has been released from a California prison, according to a government website.

Mack, best known for her role as a young Superman’s close friend on “Smallville,” was sentenced to three years behind bars in 2021 after pleading guilty two years earlier to charges that she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere.

Online records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Mack, 40, was released Monday from a federal prison in Dublin, California, near San Francisco. Her release was first reported by the Albany Times-Union.

Mack avoided a longer prison term by cooperating with federal authorities in their case against Raniere, who was ultimately sentenced to 120 years in prison after being convicted on sex-trafficking charges.

Mack helped prosecutors mount evidence showing how Raniere created a secret society that included brainwashed women who were branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him.

In addition to Mack, members of the group included an heiress to the Seagram’s liquor fortune, Clare Bronfman; and a daughter of TV star Catherine Oxenberg of “Dynasty” fame.

Mack would later repudiate Raniere and express “remorse and guilt” before her sentencing in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mack was born in Germany, where her father was an opera singer. The family later moved to Southern California and Mack graduated from the Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana, now called the Orange County School of the Arts.

She was living with her parents in Los Alamitos before serving her time in prison.

​ Orange County Register 

Duran Duran is coming to Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in August

• July 5, 2023

The Grammy Award-winning English new wave band Duran Duran will make a tour stop to headline Yaamava Resort & Casino in Highland on Sunday, Aug. 20.

Tickets for the event will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, July 10 at yaamava.com. The casino show marks the second tour stop in Southern California that the band has publicly announced. The second stop is at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Duran Duran emerged from the New Romantic scene out of the United Kingdom in the 1970s that was characterized by flamboyant and eccentric fashion inspired by the music of David Bowie, Marc Bolan and Roxy Music. The group was innovative with their approach in making music videos, which helped pave their success in leading the MTV-driven Second British Invasion in the 1980s.

The band, known for hits such as “Come Undone,” “Ordinary World” and “Save a Prayer,” has won numerous awards throughout their career including two Brit Awards, two Grammy Awards, an MTV Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Video Visionary Award from the MTV Europe Music Awards.

They were also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

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​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland crews install ‘Big Hero 6’ towers on San Fransokyo bridge — See photos

• July 5, 2023

Crews have begun installing the twin towers of San Fransokyo’s Shinto shrine-inspired Golden Gate bridge as Disneyland continues the transformation of the Pacific Wharf dining area into a tribute to the “Big Hero 6” film.

Photos show the steel framework of the distinctive San Fransokyo Square bridge taking shape at the entrance to the rethemed food court at Disney California Adventure, according to Disney Geek.

More views of the ongoing work on San Fransokyo bridge at #DisneyCaliforniaAdventure. #BigHeroSix#dapsmagic pic.twitter.com/ddTVdLzROd

— Daps Magic (@DAPs_Magic) June 30, 2023

Disneyland employees signed their names and messages to the steel cross beams before the bridge uprights were installed, according to MousePlanet.

“This will all be covered when the bridge is eventually painted, but it’s a nice touch,” according to MousePlanet.

Disneyland employees signed their names and messages to the steel supports of San Fransokyo’s Shinto shrine-inspired bridge at Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of MousePlanet)

The bridge spanning the waterway bordering the outdoor dining area at Disney California Adventure is closed while steelworkers add the distinctive Torii Gate Bridge towers depicted in the 2014 Disney animated film. The bridge is expected to reopen in the next few weeks after work is completed.

San Fransokyo served as the central location in “Big Hero 6,” drawing upon inspirations from both cities to create the fictional metropolis. Walt Disney Imagineering is slowly but steadily turning the Monterey Bay-themed Pacific Wharf food court into an architectural cross between the San Francisco Bay and Tokyo Bay areas.

Just signed a beam that will be part of the San Fransokyo Gate Bridge pic.twitter.com/JL0acSOAUW

— Sasaki Time (@SasakiTime) June 27, 2023

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The “Big Hero 6” Torii Gate Bridge recalls the scaled-down version of the Golden Gate Bridge that once marked DCA’s entryway until an extensive renovation of the park a decade ago.

Work is expected to continue through mid-August on the transformation of Pacific Wharf into San Fransokyo Square. Big Hero 6-themed menu items will begin rolling into the transformed Pacific Wharf eateries starting in mid-July.

Visitors will be able to pose for photos in DCA’s San Fransokyo with Baymax and Hiro Hamada and Baymax, the adolescent hero from the film and his inflatable healthcare robot sidekick.

​ Orange County Register 

France sees itself as blind to race. After a teen is killed by police, how does one discuss racism?

• July 5, 2023

By CARA ANNA

NANTERRE, France — The race of the police officer who fatally shot a French teenager during a traffic stop last week hasn’t been disclosed, and there’s no reason why it would be. Officially, race doesn’t exist in France.

But the death of the French-born 17-year-old with North African roots, which sent rioters into the streets, has again exposed deep feelings about systemic racism under the surface of the country’s ideal of colorblind equality.

With his killing captured on video, what could be seen as France’s George Floyd moment has produced a very French national discussion that leaves out what many Americans would consider the essential point: color.

One can’t address race, much less racism, if it doesn’t exist, according to French policy. The Paris police chief, Laurent Nunez, said Sunday he was shocked by the U.N. human rights office’s use of the term “racism” in its criticism of French law enforcement. The police have none of it, he said.

France, especially white France, doesn’t tend to frame discussion of discrimination and inequality in black-and-white terms. Some French consider it racist to even discuss skin color. No one knows how many people of various races live in the country, as such data is not recorded.

“They say we are all French … so for them, it’s racist to do something like that,” said Iman Essaifi, a 25-year-old resident of Nanterre, the Paris suburb where the teen, Nahel Merzouk, was killed.

While the subject of race remains taboo, Essaifi believes the events of the past week were a step toward speaking more openly about it. She noted that the people who marched in the streets of Nanterre after Nahel’s death were “not necessarily Arabs, not necessarily Blacks. There were whites, there were the ‘vrai Francais,’” – the “real French.”

France’s Constitution says the French Republic and its values are considered universal, meaning that all citizens have the same rights regardless of origin, race or religion.

Trying to discuss racial inequality without mentioning race leads to some linguistic gymnastics. Instead of terms like Black or mixed-race neighborhoods, French people instead often speak of “communities” or “banlieues” (suburbs) and “quartiers” (neighborhoods). They’re widely understood to mean often disadvantaged urban areas of housing projects and large immigrant populations.

Amid the unrest after Nahel’s death, such nonspecific language has ranged from supportive to insulting. Nanterre’s mayor, Patrick Jarry, spoke on Monday of the suburb “in all its diversity.” A statement last week by a large police union, the Alliance Police Nationale, described the rioters as “vermin.”

Of course there’s racism in France, some people said.

“For example, if your parents come from another country, even you are poorly accepted,” said Stella Assi, a 17-year-old born in Paris who was passing by the city hall in Nanterre. “If I were white, that wouldn’t happen.”

The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights in its annual report to the government this week said racism is still “largely estimated and largely under-reported.”

France’s legacy of colonialism, largely in Africa and the Caribbean, plays out in some attitudes that continue generations later. More recently, migration has caused debate and division. The result is a government that openly addresses certain issues around race, but not necessarily in relation to its citizens’ daily lives.

On Wednesday, for example, a court in France is scheduled to review a request for reparations for the descendants of enslaved people. And on a notice board in Nanterre, now scrawled with graffiti saying “Cops, get out of our lives,” a city hall announcement from May advertised a ceremony commemorating the abolition of slavery.

Ahmed Djamai, 58, the president of an organization in Nanterre that connects youth with work opportunities, recalled being stopped by police recently and asked for his residence permit. He was born in France.

“Our second-, third- and fourth-generation children face the same problem when they go out to get a job,” he said. “People lump them together with things that happen in the suburbs. They’re not accepted. So, to date, the problem is social, but it’s also one of identity.”

The stunning procession of hundreds of men who walked from a mosque in Nanterre to the cemetery for Nahel’s burial stood out in France not only because many were Black or Arab, but because even the demonstration of religious identity can be sensitive. In addition to being officially colorblind, France is officially secular, too.

Some people with immigrant roots fear that France’s success stories of generations of assimilation under that policy are being lost amid the rioting and criticism.

Gilles Djeyaramane is a municipal councilor in Poissy, a town west of Paris. His French-born wife is of Madagascan origin. He was born in French Guiana, of parents from India, and moved to France when he was 18.

“I’m always saying to my children, ‘Your mom and dad would never have met if France didn’t exist,” he said. “I’m not at all utopian. I know there’s work to do in some areas. But we are on the right path.”

Those who knew Nahel, and some who identify with him, said it’s not fair to pretend that differences, and discrimination, don’t exist. With anger, some pointed out that a funding campaign for the family of the police officer accused of shooting Nahel already topped 1 million euros ($1.09 million).

The frustration and violence in many communities come from other issues as well, including the rising cost of living and policing in general. In 2021, Amnesty International and five other rights groups filed a class-action lawsuit against the French state alleging ethnic profiling by police during ID checks.

Dozens of organizations and political parties are calling for “citizens’ marches” on Saturday across France to call for police reforms, saying that long-running tensions between officers and the people are part of a history of “systematic racism that runs through society at large.”

Police officers reject accusations that some single out people because of their color. Officer Walid Hrar, who is of Moroccan descent and Muslim, said that if it sometimes seems that people of color are stopped more than others, it’s a reflection of the mixed-race density of populations in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.

In rural France, with fewer people with immigrant backgrounds, police also stop people but “they are called François, Paul and Pierre and Jacques,” Hrar said.

But Mariam Lambert, a 39-year-old who said Nahel was a friend of her son, stressed the pressure of feeling that she and others, including fellow Muslims, had to muffle their identity.

“If I put a scarf on my head … they would see me as from another world, and everything would change for me,” said Lambert, who thinks she would be insulted in the streets. She spoke on the margins of a gathering at Nanterre city hall as events were held there and across France on Monday in support of authorities and a return to calm.

Lambert mused about moving to Morocco if France doesn’t change. “There are plenty of people leaving,” she said. “Because who protects us from the police?”

John Leicester and Nicolas Garriga contributed to this report from Paris.

​ Orange County Register