ANGOULEME, France (AP) — Three former Grenoble rugby players serving time for the rape of a 20-year-old student in 2017 have lost an appeal against their convictions and prison sentences.
An appeals court in France on Saturday re-imposed the original sentences of prison terms up to 14 years.
Irishman Denis Coulson and Frenchman Loïck Jammes were sentenced to 14 years in prison, and New Zealand's Rory Grice to 12 years.
The victim had lodged a complaint in March 2017 following Grenoble’s match in the southwestern French city of Bordeaux. According to French media reports, she said she had met the players during an alcohol-fueled night and was raped in a hotel in the outskirts of Bordeaux.
A court sentenced the men to prison in December 2024, and all three have been in prison since. They claimed that the sexual encounter had been consensual.
“To reach the same decision as in the first instance, the court and the jurors took into account the seriousness of the facts,” said the court presiding judge, Marie-Dominique Boulard-Paoloni, as quoted by L'Equipe newspaper. “We also considered the absence of any notable change compared to the previous decision. You now have ten days to lodge an appeal in cassation.”
Lawyers for the defendants said they would appeal to the Court of Cassation, France's highest court of the judicial order.
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FILE -Rory Grice of New Zealand, right, is tackled by Mun Sang-yong of South Korea during their match on the first day of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament in Hong Kong March 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
The finance ministers of Spain and four other European countries are urging the European Union to impose a bloc-wide windfall tax on energy companies, concerned that surging oil and gas prices driven by the war in Iran will fuel inflation and strain households.
Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Saturday that his counterparts from Germany, Italy, Portugal and Austria had signed a letter to the European Commission citing “market distortions” caused by the price spike.
“The conflict in the Middle East has caused oil prices to rise, placing a significant burden on the European economy and on European citizens,” the letter, dated Friday and made public by Cuerpo in an online post, said.
“It is important to ensure that this burden is distributed fairly,” it added.
Europe is largely dependent on imported oil and gas, leaving it vulnerable to external shocks. In 2022, turmoil in energy markets following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine pushed inflation into double digits in many European countries.
At the time, the EU imposed a “solidarity contribution” that included caps on excess energy profits.
“Given the current market distortions and fiscal constraints, the European Commission should swiftly develop a similar EU-wide contribution instrument,” the letter said. “It would also send a clear message that those who profit from the consequences of the war must do their part to ease the burden on the general public.”
Driven largely by higher oil prices, the annual inflation rate in the 21 countries that use the euro rose to 2.5% in March, from 1.9% in February.
Iran has blocked most tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil and gas — in a move that threatens to stress fuel markets for months.
European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen warned this week that disruption caused by the closure means fuel prices are unlikely to “go back to normal in a foreseeable future.”
Gas prices are displayed near a ferris wheel in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
