French President Emmanuel Macron has maintained his lead over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen following a prickly television head-to-head debate, a poll showed on Thursday. With just three days to go before Sunday’s election run-off, the two were due back on the campaign trail – Macron in a Paris suburb …
Read More »US should pay France for loss of Russian gas – Le Pen
The presidential candidate says costs will soar if the EU bans Russian energy The US should compensate France for losses if the EU bans Russian energy carriers, French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said in an interview with BFM TV. “The Americans, who will sell us liquefied gas and get …
Read More »After Biden’s “genocide” claim against Russia, Macron says accusations won’t end war
The French president declined to use the term “genocide” referring to Moscow’s military action in Ukraine French President Emmanuel Macron declined to join his US counterpart Joe Biden in describing the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine as “genocide.” Verbal attacks would not help further peace in Ukraine, he …
Read More »France’s Macron heads to Le Pen stronghold in search of more votes
Centrist President Emmanuel Macron took his hunt for more re-election support on Monday to France’s former industrial heartland in the north, a blue-collar stronghold of far-right rival Marine Le Pen, who he will face in an April 24 runoff vote. Macron, 44, is vying to become the first president in …
Read More »Low turnout as France goes to the polls to elect new president
Incumbent Macron, far-right leader Le Pen, seen as frontrunners in presidential election. Polls are open in France for a presidential election that has been characterised by demagoguery and the lack of a political agenda. Voting started at 8 am and will end at 8pm (18:00 GMT) when the first projections …
Read More »French election race wide open as far-right Le Pen closes in on Macron
France heads to the polls on Sunday with Emmanuel Macron facing a far tougher test than first envisaged They are antique car aficionados and struggling students. They are retired people living in the countryside, cheerful multilingual accountants who have lived abroad, and even frustrated, disadvantaged members of the country’s Muslim …
Read More »France | Police hunting for man who left a parcel bomb at Toulouse Cathedral
Police forces were hunting for a man who left a parcel bomb in the Cathedral of Toulouse, Southwestern France, on Friday, ahead of the first round of voting in France’s presidential race on April 10, police said. The man deposited the parcel around 0700 GMT at the altar of the …
Read More »Germany, France urge all sides to respect eastern Ukraine ceasefire
Germany and France called on both the Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine to respect the restoration of a full ceasefire, their foreign ministries said in a joint statement on Thursday. “We urge the sides to respect the ceasefire and to continue discussions on further steps in …
Read More »Macron, Draghi call for reform of EU fiscal rules to allow more investment
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called Thursday on the EU to reform its fiscal rules in order to allow greater investment spending while acknowledging the necessity to reduce debts. “Just as the rules could not be allowed to stand in the way of our response …
Read More »France wants EU to start legal case against UK
The French government has said it will call on the EU to open legal proceedings against the UK over London’s alleged withholding of fishing licenses. Paris says 73 licenses are now outstanding. Speaking on Friday, Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told reporters that France had obtained 93% of the …
Read More »Facial recognition: Clearview AI breaks EU data privacy rules, says French watchdog
France has threatened to fine the facial recognition company Clearview AI for unlawfully collecting citizens’ data. The French data protection watchdog (CNIL) said the American company had collected thousands of photos of French citizens without their consent. The authority has formally ordered Clearview to delete its database of images within …
Read More »Intense floods forces evacuations in France
Several areas in southwest France have been flooded after receiving two to three weeks’ worth of rain overnight. The heavy precipitation caused rivers to swell and triggered landslides in some areas, forcing residents to flee. The French meteorological agency, Meteo France, has issued red alert warnings in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques and …
Read More »France condemns attack that killed seven U.N. peacekeepers in Mali
France’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned an attack that killed seven United Nations peacekeepers and wounded several others in Mali on Wednesday, saying those responsible must be identified and held accountable. Seven United Nations peacekeepers in central Mali were killed and three others seriously wounded by an improvised explosive device, …
Read More »Belgium, UK agree to strengthen immigration cooperation amid Channel crisis
Belgium and Britain said on Tuesday they will cooperate more closely to fight illegal migration, days after France snubbed Britain and said it needed to get serious before talks on the matter could resume. France and Britain were already at loggerheads over immigration, post-Brexit trading rules and fishing rights and …
Read More »At least 27 die trying to cross Channel to UK, French mayor says
At least 27 migrants died after their dinghy capsized on Wednesday while trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, a local mayor said. According to fishermen, more migrants left France’s northern shores than usual to take advantage of calm sea conditions, although the water was bitterly cold. One …
Read More »Gunshots Fired at Police on French Island of Martinique Amid COVID-Related Protests, Guadeloupe still tense
Gunshots were fired overnight at police in the French Caribbean island of Martinique, local authorities said on Tuesday, in a sign that unrest triggered by COVID-19 curbs that have rocked the nearby island of Guadeloupe could be spreading there. No police have been injured and things have calmed down in …
Read More »France to send police special forces to violence-hit Guadeloupe
France is sending police special forces to restore order in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe hit by rioting and looting amid protests against COVID-19 protocols, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday. “The first message is that the state will stand firm,” Darmanin told reporters after holding a …
Read More »Fire breaks out near Place de L’Opera in central Paris (Videos)
A large fire broke out in a building on boulevard des Capucines, near the Place de L’Opera square in central Paris on Saturday, sending clouds of smoke rising into the air. #France??:A large #fire broke out in a building on boulevard des Capucines, near the #Place de L'Opera square in …
Read More »France to ‘fight every day’ for more fishing licences in row with UK
France said on Friday it was still waiting for Britain to issue 150 more fishing licences to French vessels in a post-Brexit row that has strained British-French relations, and that it would “fight every day” to obtain them. The dispute has dragged on since Britain left the European Union, with …
Read More »Italy, France to sign Rome treaty aimed at changing EU power balance – sources
Italian and French leaders Mario Draghi and Emmanuel Macron will sign a deal next week to try to tilt the balance of power in Europe after the departure of German Chancellor Angela Merkel a government source said. The details of the accord remain undisclosed, but another Italian official said it …
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