France News

France faces suit over no-sex rule for blood donations by gay men

By AFP

Paris - A Frenchman has filed a discrimination suit at Europe's top rights court over a rule that requires gay men to refrain from having sex for a year before they donate blood, his lawyer said Friday.

Baron Empain, survivor of brutal 1978 kidnapping, dies at 80

By AFP

Apo - Leading Franco-Belgian industrialist Baron Edouard-Jean Empain, whose brutal kidnapping in France in 1978 made headlines, has died at the age of 80, a relative said.

Nationalist 'leprosy' spreading in Europe: Macron

By AFP

Paris - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday likened rising nationalism and anti-migrant sentiment in Europe to "leprosy".

Nationalist 'disease' spreading in Europe: Macron

By AFP

Paris - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday likened rising nationalism and anti-migrant sentiment in Europe to a kind of "disease".

MSF aid workers in Africa 'used prostitutes': BBC report

By AFP

London - Aid workers for charity Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) used prostitutes in Africa, a BBC report said Thursday citing anonymous whistleblowers who also reported boasts of trading medicine for sex.

Airlines to complain to EU over French strikes

By AFP

Apo - Budget carrier Ryanair and British Airways owner IAG said Wednesday they will file a complaint to the EU over what they say is France's failure to tackle crippling strikes by air traffic controllers.

Hardline ally in new attack against Merkel over eurozone budget

By AFP

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's hardline allies on Wednesday took aim at her backing for a new eurozone budget, opening up another front after an attack against her on immigration.

Hardline ally in new attack against Merkel over eurozone budget

By AFP

Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative allies on Wednesday took aim at her backing for a new eurozone budget, German media reported, opening up another front in their attack against her.

Benetton condemned for using rescued migrants in adverts

By AFP

Marseille - French charity SOS Mediterranee has lashed out at clothing giant Benetton over an advertising campaign featuring a photograph of migrants being rescued at sea.

Review: Mondo Duplantis wins big in France, defeats Renaud Lavillenie Special

By Markos Papadatos

Montreuil - Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis has a major reason to celebrate. He won first place in the men's pole vault competition in Montreuil, France.

Woman charged over boxcutter attack in southern France

By AFP

Toulon - A young woman was charged Tuesday with attempted murder and advocating terrorism, after she injured two people with a boxcutter in a supermarket in southeast France at the weekend.

Macron wins Merkel's backing on budget for eurozone

By AFP

Meseberg - France's President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday won German Chancellor Angela Merkel's backing for reforms aimed at bolstering the eurozone against crises, including a vaunted budget for the bloc.

Macron, Merkel urge 'European response' to migrant crisis

By AFP

Meseberg - French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Tuesday for a joint European response to the EU's flashpoint challenge of immigration amid deep divisions in the bloc.

France, Germany agree to set up eurozone budget: Merkel

By AFP

Meseberg - France and Germany have agreed to set up a common budget for the eurozone, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday, announcing a key reform proposal to bolster the bloc.

Rifts emerge among French rail unions over pursuing strikes

By AFP

Paris - France's second-largest rail union said Tuesday that it would not extend a long-running strike against an overhaul of state train operator SNCF, breaking ranks with other unions after lawmakers approved the reforms last week.

French fighter jets go quiet for school exams

By AFP

Bordeaux - French students may be suffering one of the most stressful weeks of their young lives as they take their high school exams, but at least they won't be distracted by fighter jets.

Macron backs EU ally Merkel in political battle on immigration

By AFP

Meseberg - France's Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday jumped to the aid of his core European partner, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is under mounting domestic pressure over the divisive issue of immigration.

France's Le Pen must repay 300,000 euros to European Parliament: court

By AFP

Luxembourg - French far-right leader Marine Le Pen must repay nearly 300,000 euros to the European Parliament for funds paid incorrectly to an assistant, a top EU court ruled on Tuesday.

Merkel, Macron to talk EU reform in shadow of migrant crisis

By AFP

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday hosts French President Emmanuel Macron for joint cabinet talks on EU reform, especially the flashpoint issue of immigration that divides the bloc and heaps domestic pressure on Merkel.

Half of Aquarius migrants 'seek asylum in France': Spanish govt

By AFP

Madrid - Almost half of the 630 migrants that were rescued from the Mediterranean and arrived in Spain's port of Valencia at the weekend want to seek asylum in France, the Spanish government said Monday.

Napoleon fever confirmed as hat sells for 350,000 euros

By AFP

Lyon - A two-cornered military dress hat thought to have belonged to Napoleon went for 350,000 euros ($406,000) at auction on Monday, the latest sale to highlight the boundless appetite for all things associated with the emperor.

Half of Aquarius migrants 'seek asylum in France': Spanish govt

By AFP

Woman yelling 'Allahu akbar' slashes two with blade in France

By AFP

Marseille - Two people were hurt in a town in southern France on Sunday when a woman shouting "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) attacked them in a supermarket with a boxcutter knife, prosecutors said.

Woman yelling 'Allahu akbar' slashes two with blade in France

By AFP

Marseille - Two people were hurt in a town in southern France on Sunday when a veiled woman shouting "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) attacked them in a supermarket with a boxcutter knife, prosecutors said.

Woman shouting 'Allahu akbar' injures two with blade in France

By AFP

Marseille - Two people were injured in a town in southern France on Sunday when a woman shouting "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) attacked two people in a supermarket with a boxcutter, prosecutors said.

Last of the Jayer wine sold for 30 mln euros

By AFP

Geneva - The last batch of late legendary winemaker Henri Jayer's Burgundies -- which include some of the world's most expensive wines -- was sold for a mouth-watering 30 million euros ($35 million) in Geneva on Sunday, well in excess of the estimated price.

Migrant feud casts shadow as Macron and Merkel seek EU roadmap

By AFP

Paris - French President Emmanuel Macron heads to Germany on Tuesday seeking progress with Chancellor Angela Merkel on elusive eurozone reforms, but the deepening EU rifts over migration threaten to dominate an already daunting agenda.

Last of the Jayer wine to go on sale in Geneva

By AFP

Geneva - The last batch of late legendary winemaker Henri Jayer's Burgundies -- which include some of the world's most expensive wines -- go on auction in Geneva Sunday and could rake in up to $13 million.

Aquarius migrants step ashore in Spain after week-long ordeal

By AFP

Valencia - The 630 migrants whose rescue sparked a major migration row in Europe arrived in the Spanish port of Valencia on Sunday after a turbulent week that saw Italy and Malta turn them away.

France, Germany close to agreement on eurozone reform

By AFP

Paris - Paris and Berlin are very close to an agreement on eurozone reform after months of divisions, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said.