France News

French rebel Melenchon takes the fight to Macron

By AFP

Paris - On his lightning march to power, French President Emmanuel Macron felled several political veterans, but one of them, perennial rebel leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon, has survived to lead resistance to his sweeping reforms.

French labour reforms: what's going to change?

By AFP

Paris - French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday made good on a central campaign vow to overhaul the country's complex labour code, overriding objections from some trade unions and the hard-left opposition.

Brussels attack suspect may have brain tumour: lawyer

By AFP

Brussels - A Frenchman who allegedly shot dead four people at a Jewish museum in Brussels was denied medical care in prison for a suspected brain tumour and is unfit for trial, his lawyers said Thursday.

Canadian supporters seek release of Paris synagogue attack suspect

By AFP

Ottawa - Supporters of Hassan Diab, a Canadian professor suspected in a deadly 1980 attack on a Paris synagogue, asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday to encourage French authorities to release him.

New protests as France set to enshrine labour reforms

By AFP

Paris - Unions staged new protests Thursday against an overhaul of France's labour laws, hoping to build pressure on President Emmanuel Macron days before his flagship reforms are expected to enter into force.

Top Le Pen aide quits amid French far-right infighting

By AFP

Paris - French far-right leader Marine Le Pen's right-hand man stormed out of the party on Thursday as simmering tensions over the National Front's election defeats this year burst into the open.

Macron says Iran nuclear deal no longer enough

By AFP

New York - France's President Emmanuel Macron declared Wednesday that the Iran nuclear deal is no longer a sufficient safeguard against the growing power that Tehran wields in its region."We need the 2015 accord," he said of the agreement. "Is this accord enough?...

Macron limbers up for tricky dance with Merkel

By AFP

Paris - French President Emmanuel Macron likes to describe France and Germany as two tango dancers who are enthusiastic partners but wary about embracing.

New protests as France set to enshrine labour reforms

By AFP

Paris - French unions will stage new protests Thursday against an overhaul of the country's labour code, hoping to build pressure on President Emmanuel Macron days before his signature reform is expected to become law.

Macron calls for new measures to be added to Iran deal

By AFP

New York - French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for the Iran nuclear deal to be expanded to include measures to restrict ballistic missile development and to prolong its controls on uranium enrichment.

Burned-out French chef gives back Michelin stars

By AFP

Toulouse - A chef in southern France with three Michelin stars says he wants to be stripped of the distinction because of the "huge pressure" to dish up flawless fare each day.

West Africa steps up battle against pirates and poachers

By AFP

Fass - Armed and stony-faced, six black-clothed members of Senegal's marine special forces board the Chinese fishing boat, alerted by radio that it may be operating illegally.

French Socialists to sell HQ after election debacles

By AFP

Paris - Once a sign of the might of the French Socialists, the party's grand headquarters in central Paris have been put up for sale following the electoral drubbing suffered by the leftwingers this year.

France's Macron at UN defends Iran, climate deals

By AFP

New York - French President Emmanuel Macron stood firm Tuesday that landmark agreements on Iran and climate change would not change as he gently nudged Donald Trump to return to the fold.

France clears hundreds of migrants from wood near Calais

By AFP

Grande-synthe - French authorities evacuated hundreds of migrants from a wood on the northern coast near Calais on Tuesday over fears it could become a magnet for others hoping to head to Britain.

US teen 'unstoppable' in fight for girl power in Africa

By AFP

Paris - With braces on her teeth and sneakers on her feet, Zuriel Oduwole from Los Angeles may look like a typical American teen.

French cardinal to stand trial for alleged paedophilia cover-up

By AFP

Lyon - French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and a senior Vatican official were on Tuesday ordered to stand trial for allegedly covering up for a paedophile priest accused of abusing several boy scouts in Lyon in the 1980s.

Paris police car torching trial delayed after chaotic start

By AFP

Paris - The trial of nine men over a dramatic attack on Paris police, whose car was torched while they were still inside, was delayed after getting off to a chaotic start Tuesday.

France hopeful of persuading Trump to stay in climate accord

By AFP

New York - A hopeful France set out at the United Nations Monday to persuade the United States to stay in the Paris climate agreement, as Donald Trump's administration insisted it was not changing gears.

Model Ratajkowski blasts French magazine for slimming her curves

By AFP

Paris - The US model and actress Emily Ratajkowski has called out a French magazine for reducing her lips and breasts in a photograph for an interview which deals with the discrimination she says she has faced for "being too sexy".

Hurricane-hit St Martin takes first steps to rebuild

By AFP

Marigot - Almost two weeks after Hurricane Irma slammed into St Martin, killing 15 people, the French-Dutch Caribbean island has begun to take small steps toward reconstruction.

French reporter back home after Turkish terror charges

By AFP

Paris - The young French journalist Loup Bureau arrived back in Paris on Sunday, "tired but relieved", after being detained for more than seven weeks in a Turkish jail on terror charges.

Dreams of a fairer future on hurricane-hit St Martin

By AFP

Orl - The Caribbean island of St Martin was a place of spectacular inequalities before Hurricane Irma flattened rich and poor neighbourhoods alike -- but some residents now dream of a fresh start.

France's hurricane-hit St Martin on guard for health threats

By AFP

Jarry - The French-Dutch island of St Martin, where white sands and turquoise waters once drew foreign visitors in droves, is now attracting a different kind of population: rats and mosquitoes.

French reporter jailed in Turkey 'set to be freed'

By AFP

Paris - A young French reporter who has been held on terror charges in Turkey for the last seven weeks is set to be freed, his lawyers said Friday.

Macron urges lifting of Qatar embargo

By AFP

Paris - French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday urged the lifting of a Saudi-led embargo on Qatar in effect since June.

France's champagne harvest weather-hit but 'promising'

By AFP

Lille - Bad weather caused a severe decrease in this year's grape harvest in the Champagne region, but growers predicted Friday that quality would trump quantity in this year's bubbly.

France's top court bars access to Rwanda genocide files

By AFP

Paris - France's highest court ruled Friday that a researcher could be denied access to sensitive archives concerning the 1994 genocide in Rwanda even though they were ostensibly opened to the public in 2015.