The European Athletic Association has confirmed that the 2020 European Athletics Championships have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The competition was due to take place at Paris’ Charlety Stadium from the 25th of August until the 30th of August. A statement released by the European Athletics said, “The …
Read More »French study finds smoking may help you RESIST COVID-19
In a reversal of prevailing COVID-19 wisdom, a French study appears to show smokers are less at risk from the virus, affirming the results of an earlier Chinese study. The data aren’t conclusive – but they’re certainly surprising. Nicotine may protect smokers against the coronavirus, according to a paper published …
Read More »Cocaine prices in France surge thanks to coronavirus crisis
The coronavirus pandemic and the travel restrictions that came with it have severely reduced the supply of illegal drugs entering France, sending prices skyrocketing and users turning to cheaper alternatives. The go-to land routes for drug traffickers crossing into France from the Netherlands and Spain have largely been closed off, …
Read More »Australia seeks probe into coronavirus spread, France and UK say now not the time
Australia sought support for an international probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in calls with U.S. President Donald Trump and major powers, but France and Britain said now was the time to fight the virus and not apportion blame. Australia’s push for an independent review of the origins …
Read More »Europe begins easing coronavirus lockdowns
Some European countries have announced plans to ease restrictions on social life, transport and cross-border travel imposed since mid-March to battle the spread of the novel coronavirus. AUSTRIA Austria allowed thousands of shops to reopen on April 14, becoming one of the first countries in Europe to loosen the lockdown. …
Read More »Coronavirus: 668 infected on French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle
A third of the sailors on France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle – 668 out of nearly 2,000 – are infected with coronavirus, the navy says. The ship returned to the French port of Toulon early from Atlantic exercises. Twenty sailors are in hospital, one of them in intensive care. …
Read More »North-South divide ahead of key EU meeting
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed deep divides in Europe, with EU member states arguing over how to tackle the economic fallout. Italy and Spain have accused northern nations – led by Germany and the Netherlands – of not doing enough. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has even warned that if …
Read More »WHO slams French doctors’ proposal to test cure in Africa
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has condemned controversial comments made by French doctors about testing a COVID-19 potential treatment first in Africa, calling the remarks a “hangover from a colonial mentality.” “To be honest, I was so appalled. And it was a time when I said when we …
Read More »Knife-man in southern France kills 2 in an attack on passers-by
A man wielding a knife attacked residents venturing out to shop in a town under lockdown south of the French city of Lyon Saturday, killing two people and wounding others, prosecutors said. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press the attack took place at 11 a.m. in a commercial …
Read More »Twenty hurt after high-speed train derails in eastern France
A high-speed TGV train running between Strasbourg in eastern France and Paris derailed on Thursday, injuring 20 people including one seriously, local officials said. A spokesperson for the SNCF said: “As far as we know, there are no serious injuries among passengers.” Other trains were being re-routed and there was …
Read More »France reports first COVID-19 death in Europe
France’s health minister has announced the first coronavirus death in Europe. Minister Agnes Buzyn says Saturday that “I was informed last night of the death of an 80-year-old patient who had been hospitalized … since Jan. 25.” The patient, a Chinese tourist from the province of Hubei, had a lung …
Read More »Macron’s candidate for Paris mayor quits over sexting row
French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a setback on Friday when one of his closest lieutenants, Benjamin Griveaux, pulled out of the race to become mayor of Paris after it was alleged he sent sexual images to a woman who is not his wife. “I have decided to withdraw my candidacy …
Read More »Storm Sabine: Serious weather shuts down air traffic across Europe
Ciara or Sabine: Call it what you want, but countries across Europe are being hit by a powerful storm. Transport has been plunged into chaos and schools have been canceled. Northern Europe is currently being hit by a major storm, which is moving south. Known either as Ciara or Sabine …
Read More »French police clear last refugee camp in Paris
Four women are among the group moved on from makeshift camp, which authorities describe as dirty and ‘overrun by rats’. French police have cleared the last refugee tent camp in northeastern Paris, moving 427 people to shelters as part of a plan to take migrants off the streets. The group, …
Read More »France sends warships to eastern Mediterranean in support of Greece: report
France has sent warships to the eastern Mediterranean to lend support to Greece against Turkey’s quest for energy reserves in the region, according to the Middle East Monitor news website. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was on a visit to the French capital of Paris to gather support, has …
Read More »France condemns Turkey for ‘violating Berlin agreement on Libya’
French President Emmanuel Macron has lambasted his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for sending warships and “mercenaries” to crisis-hit Libya, stressing that Ankara is breaching an agreement reached at a summit in Berlin earlier this month to halt foreign interference in the North African country. “These past few days we …
Read More »Coronavirus: First European Cases as Beijing Cracks Down, Locking Down 56 Million People
Three cases of the deadly Chinese Coronavirus have been confirmed in France, the first in Europe, as the Chinese government moves to lockdown whole cities impacted by the disease, where an estimated 56 million people are now subjected to travel restrictions. The first cases in Europe have been confirmed in …
Read More »Macron faces off with Israeli forces during a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem church.
The French tricolor has flown over the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem’s walled Old City since it was gifted by the Ottomans to French Emperor Napoleon III in 1856. France views it as a provocation when Israeli police enter the church’s sandstone complex, in a part of Jerusalem al-Quds …
Read More »France, US agree to extend talks over digital tax
Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump have agreed to extend negotiations on a dispute over a French tax on digital giants to the end of the year, postponing Washington’s threat of sanctions against Paris, French officials said Tuesday. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, speaking before a Brussels meeting with …
Read More »France’s Louvre shut by pension strikes
The Louvre museum in Paris shut down Friday after striking workers blocked the entrance, management said, in the latest protest against plans to overhaul France’s pension system. Hundreds of disappointed visitors massed in front of the entrance to the world’s most visited museum, some hurling insults at the striking workers, …
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