A French soldier was killed and several others were wounded in an attack on a counterterrorism training exercise in northern Iraq, French President Emmanuel Macron said early Friday.
“Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Chasseurs Alpins Battalion in Varces died for France during an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq,” Macron posted on X, confirming the first French fatality of the Middle East war that began with the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran last month.
The French president called the attack “unacceptable,” adding that the soldiers were in Iraq as part of an ongoing effort against the Islamic State.
“Their presence in Iraq is part of the strict framework of the fight against terrorism,” Macron said. “The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks.”
The French military command had earlier said that six soldiers involved in providing counterterrorism training in Iraq had been wounded in a drone strike in Kurdistan’s Erbil region and taken for medical treatment. It did not provide details of the drone’s origins.
An Italian base in Erbil was targeted by a drone strike Thursday but no casualties were reported as a result of that attack.
<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/person-holding-baby-s-hand.jpg?id=61498980&width=980"/><br/><br/><p>You probably know the <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/tag/baby-names" target="_self">baby names</a> that are most popular every year, but what about uniquely Canadian baby names?</p><p>We found out what people think the "most Canadian" baby names are, and a few unexpected ones made the list.</p><p>Recently, on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MTLBlog/posts/pfbid0Z1XuEXwx4cgbtcGwh3JnFFwn1Jf7NsKKcL3U9NSKrb8xJDxFjBREfL1HwTqWd3aml" target="_blank">MTL Blog</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NarcityCanada/posts/pfbid02NZ68V8ePEjF4pR5sR7MPkJtASf4BQdYLhQqf3seAiJ6UZr5tCf8jeYvKXLkXuXsxl" target="_blank">Narcity</a> Facebook pages, we asked, "What is the most Canadian baby name you've heard?"</p><p>There have been more than 500 comments on those posts as people revealed more than 30 names, including a few French Canadian names.</p><p>Here are the "most Canadian" baby names, according to Canadians:</p><ol><li><strong>Gord</strong></li><li><strong>Maple</strong></li><li><strong>Justin</strong></li><li><strong>Pierre</strong></li><li><strong>Doug</strong></li></ol><p>"Are all these Gord comments a joke? I've never once met anyone named Gord in my life while living in Canada," someone commented.</p><p>But a lot of Canadians responded that they know people named Gord and shared famous Canadians with that name, including Gord Downie, Gordie Howe, and Gordon Lightfoot.</p><p>Quite a few people said Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre are reasons why those first names are the "most Canadian" right now.</p><p>After the top five, the next Canadian names commented most often are <strong>Bob</strong>, <strong>B</strong><strong>eaver</strong>, <strong>Terry</strong>, <strong>Wayne </strong>and <strong>Genevieve</strong>.</p><p>People told Narcity that Bob and Doug are Canadian names because of Bob and Doug McKenzie, fictional brothers from the "Great White North" sketch on SCTV.</p><p>Some people said <strong>Moose</strong>, <strong>Ryan</strong>, <strong>Tim</strong>, <strong>Winter</strong>, <strong>Jean </strong>and <strong>Jacques </strong>are the "most Canadian" names.</p><p>Tim could be a reference to Tim Hortons, which is a Canadian classic, and the hockey player it's named after.</p><p>These are the Canadian baby names that only got mentioned a couple of times: <strong>River</strong>, <strong>Autumn</strong>, <strong>Francois</strong>, <strong>Celine</strong>, <strong>Hudson</strong>, <strong>Louise</strong>, <strong>Alberta</strong>, <strong>Renee</strong>, <strong>Avril</strong>, <strong>Stanley</strong>, <strong>Trea</strong>, <strong>Regina</strong>, <strong>Breton</strong>, <strong>Jasper</strong>, and <strong>Guy</strong>.</p><p>Some of the other French Canadian names that people commented are <strong>Maurice</strong>, <strong>Dominique</strong>, <strong>Sylvain</strong>, <strong>Marc </strong>and <strong>Marcel</strong>.</p><p><em>Love this? Check out our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/notices/" target="_blank">MTL Blog noticeboard</a> for details on jobs, benefits, travel info and more!</em></p><p><em>This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.</em></p>
