PARIS (AP) — Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou have been called up by France to prepare for the Six Nations after an Argentine court last month dropped aggravated sexual assault charges against the pair.
The 21-year-old rugby players had been accused of raping a woman after playing a match in Argentina last year. The judge dismissed the case against the duo, citing insufficient evidence. The plaintiff has appealed the ruling.
The French rugby federation said on Wednesday that coach Fabien Galthié had summoned a group of 42 players ahead of the team's opening match in the tournament against Wales on Jan. 31 at the Stade de France.
The federation had already said last month that the judge's decision paved the way for their return to the national team.
Jegou, a flanker with La Rochelle in the Top 14, and Pau lock Auradou resumed playing with their clubs three months ago and have been in great shape recently. Both have just one cap for France.
Flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert, who chose not to be picked as a reserve for France against New Zealand for the autumn test in November, was back in the group. Toulouse stalwarts Antoine Dupont — who claimed Olympic gold in Paris last summer with France Sevens — Thomas Ramos and Romain Ntamack were also called up.
Ntamack is making his way back after a 17-month absence due to the knee injury that ruled him out of the 2023 World Cup.
Among the uncapped players selected was center Noah Nene, who plays in the French second division with Dax.
France will be seeking a second Six Nations title in four years.
France:
Forwards: Esteban Abadie, Dorian Aldegheri, Grégory Alldritt, Uini Atonio, Hugo Auradou, Cyril Baille, Giorgi Beria, Paul Boudehent, Joshua Brennan, Georges-Henri Colombe, François Cros, Thibaud Flament, Marko Gazzotti, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Mathias Halagahu, Oscar Jegou, Anthony Jelonch, Maxime Lamothe, Julien Marchand, Peato Mauvaka, Emmanuel Meafou, Dany Priso, Rabah Slimani, Romain Taofifenua
Backs: Théo Attissogbe, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Léo Barré, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Nicolas Depoortere, Gaël Dréan, Antoine Dupont, Antoine Frisch, Émilien Gailleton, Matthieu Jalibert, Nolann Le Garrec, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana, Noah Nene, Romain Ntamack, Damian Penaud, Thomas Ramos, Gabin Villière.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE - French rugby players Oscar Jegou, right, and Hugo Auradou arrive from Mendoza at the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Chaile, File)
FILE - France's Romain Ntamack waves towards supporters at the end of Six Nations rugby union international match between France and Wales, at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, outside Paris, on March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
FILE - France's Antoine Dupont runs during the Autumn Nations Series rugby international between France and Argentina at the Stade de France stadium at Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, file)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.
In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.
Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.
Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.
But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.
More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.
The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.
“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”
Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.
People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.
More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .
“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.
The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.
Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.
While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.
“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."
The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”
"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.
Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”
The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.
Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.
A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
