From the eclipse of the century to the resounding return of Céline Dion to the Paris Olympic Games, including the victory of Donald Trump and the rise to power of the rebels in Syria: we look back, in images, on ten events which marked the year 2024.
1- The historic eclipse
MARTIN ALARIE / AGENCE QMI / LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL
In April, Quebec witnessed a rare astronomical phenomenon: a total solar eclipse. For a few minutes, the Moon hid the Sun, plunging — in the middle of the afternoon — Montreal (and other regions of Quebec) into darkness.
2- Montreal is hockey… women's
Photos Martin Alarie, QMI Agency
On April 20, Montreal broke the attendance record for women's hockey. During a Professional Women's Hockey League (LPHF) match between the Montreal team — since named the Montreal Victory — and the Toronto team, the Bell Center was sold out, with an audience of 21,105 spectators. …and spectators!
3- Assassination attempts against Trump
AFP
Donald Trump injured his ear during a rally in Pennsylvania last July.
Donald Trump's campaign was marked by two assassination attempts against him. During the first event, which occurred in Pennsylvania, the 78-year-old Republican suffered a slight gunshot wound to the ear.
4- Historic floods
MARIO BEAUREGARD/AGENCE QMI
Last August 9, the remains of the hurricane Debby brought more than 150 mm of rain to downtown Montreal, an amount never seen before. In the Lanaudière and Laurentides regions, up to 180 mm of water were recorded.
5- The return of Céline Dion to Paris
AFP
Celine Dion performing the song Hymne à l'amour from the Eiffel Tower.
Celine Dion made a notable return to the spotlight during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games last August. The Quebecer, who suffers from stiff person syndrome, moved the world by covering Edith Piaf's classic, Hymn to love.
6- Helene et Milton in Florida
AFP
Debris after Hurricane Milton hit Florida.
Last fall, in just a few days, two hurricanes, Helene et Miltonhit Florida hard, leaving dozens dead. With global warming, hurricanes are likely to be more and more intense and numerous in Florida.
• Also read: Here's the reason why Florida will be increasingly ravaged by hurricanes
7- The victory of Donald Trump
AFP
The defeated candidate in last November's US presidential election, Kamala Harris
In November, Donald Trump won a clear victory against Democrat Kamala Harris, who had been chosen as candidate after the withdrawal of outgoing President Joe Biden. For the second time in their history, the Americans preferred Donald Trump to a woman to govern them.
• Also read: Did Kamala Harris lose the US election because she is a woman?
8- Bashar al-Assad's shot
AFP
Syrians celebrate the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
In Syria, a rebel coalition led by the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched on November 27, overthrew President Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow.
• Also read: Here's why the chemical weapons still hidden in Syria are so worrying
• Also read: 4 things to know about Saydnaya, the prison nicknamed “the human slaughterhouse” freed in Syria
9- The end of an era for Taylor Swift
In December, Taylor Swift ended her Eras Tourwhich took him to the four corners of the world. This grandiose tour, the most lucrative in history, began in March 2023, in Arizona.
10-20 years in prison for Dominique Pelicot
AFP
Gisèle Pelicot just after the conviction of her ex-husband and executioner, Dominique Pelicot.
Gisèle Pelicot marked the year 2024 with her courage. On December 19, her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, was sentenced to the maximum sentence after an extraordinary trial in France. The 72-year-old man drugged Gisèle Pelicot for a decade to make her his sexual object and deliver her to dozens of men recruited on the internet. Another 50 men were found guilty.
− With the AFP
