Morocco earthquake: Macron tries to soothe tensions after frosty response to offer of aid

French president addresses Moroccans directly amid political rift between Rabat and Paris

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has attempted to soothe tensions with Morocco over the supply of humanitarian aid, after a deadly earthquake centred high in the Atlas mountains.

Search and rescue teams backed by the Moroccan military continued a frantic search to locate and airlift the wounded from remote mountainous villages in the Atlas mountains where the 6.8 magnitude quake struck last Friday. But as rescue efforts continued for a fifth day, the chances of finding survivors were fading.

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French court upholds ban on girls wearing abayas in schools

State council rejected complaints that ban was discriminatory and could incite hatred against Muslims

France’s top administrative court has upheld a government ban on girls in state schools wearing abayas, rejecting complaints that it was discriminatory and could incite hatred.

The government announced just before schools reopened this week that the abaya, a long, flowing dress worn by some Muslim women, would no longer be allowed because it violated the French principle of secularism, or laïcité.

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Royal family announces state visit to France during Rugby World Cup

King Charles and Queen Camilla to dine at Palace of Versailles banquet and meet sports stars

King Charles will address members of both houses of the French parliament and will have a bilateral meeting with French president, Emmanuel Macron, during a state visit to France with the queen later this month.

The visit, originally due in March, was postponed when pension-reform protests in France spiralled into violent clashes.

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Marine Le Pen could become next French president, says interior minister

Gérald Darmanin sounds alarm over far-right leader as he positions himself as centre-right candidate

The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen could win the next presidential election in 2027, the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, has said, as he positions himself as a potential candidate for the centre-right.

“The fact of the matter is that in five years’ time, a victory for Madame Le Pen is quite probable,” Darmanin told La Voix du Nord, in an interview published on Friday.

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Niger coup leader calls for support amid claims he is now head of state

Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani appeals to governments who backed democratically elected Mohamed Bazoum

Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani, the Nigerien military leader behind the coup against the country’s democratically elected president, has been declared head of state by soldiers backing him as he made a televised address calling for support.

Tchiani, the head of Niger’s presidential guard, which first acted against President Mohamed Bazoum on Wednesday, identified himself as the leader of the group of soldiers behind the coup.

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EU to drop ban of hazardous chemicals after industry pressure

Exclusive: Leaked documents show that as little as 1% of products containing hazardous substances could be prohibited

The European Commission is poised to break a promise to outlaw all but the most essential of Europe’s hazardous chemicals, leaked documents show.

The pledge to “ban the most harmful chemicals in consumer products, allowing their use only where essential” was a flagship component of the European green deal when it was launched in 2020.

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Macron accused of authoritarianism after threat to cut off social media

Élysée insists French president not advocating general blackout as ministers say rioters using platforms to organise violence

Emmanuel Macron is facing a backlash after threatening to cut off social media networks as a means of stopping the spread of violence during periods of unrest.

Élysée officials and government ministers responded on Wednesday by insisting the president was not threatening a “general blackout” but instead the “occasional and temporary” suspension of platforms.

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Emmanuel Macron’s uphill battle to achieve ‘lasting order’ in deeply divided France

Wave of unrest after teenager’s death leaves French president weighing pleas to tackle inequality against calls for tougher policing

Emmanuel Macron is facing the biggest domestic challenge of his fraught second term in office, after the police shooting of a teenager of Algerian origin at a traffic stop last week led to multiple nights of urban unrest.

The French president on Tuesday announced crisis funding to help the reconstruction of burned-out buildings and public services. But questions remain over deep divisions in French society and the political class.

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France riots: prosecutors investigate death of man hit by projectile in Marseille

Inquiry comes after President Emmanuel Macron met mayors to explore ‘deeper reasons’ for violence

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the death of a 27-year old man who was hit by a projectile at the time of the riots on Saturday, the Marseille prosecutor’s office has said.

The man died on Saturday night while Marseille was engulfed in riots and pillaging, but prosecutors said it was not possible to determine where the man was when he was shot or whether the victim had taken part in the riots.

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Tuesday briefing: How the killing of a teenager sparked fierce unrest on the streets of France

In today’s newsletter: The death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk triggered five nights of riots in Paris and beyond – but they had been brewing for years

Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition

Good morning. Apologies if this is the second time you are receiving this email – due to some technical gremlins some people received yesterday’s newsletter on Labour for a second time. Below is today’s First Edition on France.

After a tumultuous week in which the country was shaken by five nights of serious disorder, destruction and – at times – violence, the rioting has subsided and the streets are largely calm.

Palestinian territories | Israel has launched a major aerial and ground offensive into the West Bank city of Jenin, its biggest military operation in the Palestinian territory in years, in what it described as an “extensive counter-terrorism effort”. At least eight Palestinians were killed and 50 injured, 10 seriously, in the attack that began at about 1am on Monday.

Hong Kong | China has accused the UK of protecting fugitives after the British foreign secretary criticised Hong Kong’s decision to offer HK$1m bounties for the arrest of eight democracy activists based overseas. The Chinese embassy in London called on British politicians to stop using “anti-China Hong Kong disruptors to jeopardise China’s sovereignty and security”.

Fuel | The UK energy secretary has accused fuel retailers of using motorists as “cash cows”, after a consumer watchdog found that drivers were paying more for petrol and diesel than before the Covid pandemic because of “weakened” competition.

UK politics | Sue Gray was found to have apparently breached the civil service code by discussing a role with Keir Starmer without telling her Whitehall bosses, a Cabinet Office investigation has found.

D-day | Leon Gautier, the last surviving member of the French commando unit that waded ashore on D-day alongside allied troops to begin the liberation of France, died on Monday. He was 100 years old.

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Fundraiser for police officer who killed French teenager raises €1m

Politicians on the left have criticised the collection, set up by a far-right activist, but GoFundMe has refused to take it down

A row has broken out over a collection for the family of the French police officer under investigation for shooting dead a 17-year-old that has topped more than €1m (£860,000) in donations.

A similar collection to help the family of the victim, Nahel M, killed a week ago in Nanterre outside Paris after being stopped by two motorcycle patrol officers, has collected less than €200,000.

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Crowds gather at French town halls to show solidarity as protests ease

People turn out across the country to support local government after arrests on Sunday fell to 49 from 719 on Saturday

Violent protests in France over the police shooting of teenager Nahel M appeared to ease after five nights of unrest as crowds gathered at town halls across the country to show solidarity with local governments targeted in the violence.

Police made 49 arrests nationwide on Sunday, French media reported, citing the interior ministry, down significantly from 719 arrests the day before, and 1,300 on Friday.

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France riots: calmer night reported despite 700 arrests

Grandmother of Nahel M calls for calm as 45,000 police and gendarmes deployed in fifth night of rioting

The grandmother of a teenage boy, whose fatal shooting by police sparked five nights of rioting in France, has called for calm as authorities said the scale and intensity of the violence appeared to be waning, despite an arson attempt on a mayor’s home.

Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, said the police deployment would be unchanged, with 45,000 officers on duty around the country, after protesters again torched cars, looted shops, damaged infrastructure and clashed with police on Saturday night.

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In the suburbs, too many feel France’s founding ideals don’t apply to them

Emmanuel Macron has to find a way to deal with the anger and resentment simmering in communities on the margins

At about 3am last Friday I was woken up by what sounded like gunfire. I wasn’t far wrong. From the back windows of my apartment in southern Paris I could make out fireworks being hurled at the police and hear the immediate response with “flash-balls”, the “less than lethal” weapons used by French police for riot control.

I had spent the evening following the news coverage of the violent riots that were breaking out spontaneously all over France. There were familiar images of cars and buildings on fire and heavily armed police lines – familiar at least to anyone who has lived through the past few years of angry protest in France. But what was most disturbing about these riots was the sheer scale of it all: the violence was not just contained to the banlieues of the big cities but was everywhere, including picturesque towns such as Montargis in the Loiret.

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‘We are seen as less human’: inside Marseille’s districts abandoned by the police

In 2021 Emmanuel Macron promised victims of the city’s drug crime he would help. Grieving residents tell how he failed them

Inside, Emmanuel Macron was sharing a typically polished vision of a rejuvenated, safer Marseille. Yet it was outside the spruced-up gym in the impoverished Busserine district - tensions building on the hottest day of the year – where the real story was playing out.

Little more than 12 hours before the police killing of a 17-year-old boy 500 miles north in Nanterre would convulse the country, scores of officers clutching assault rifles and bulletproof riot shields clashed with teenagers of north African descent, trading insults as officers profiled potential troublemakers.

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France riots live: teargas fired in Marseille as 45,000 more police deployed across country – as it happened

Police braced for unrest after funeral for Nahel, killed by police on Tuesday, held near Paris on Saturday

More than 1,000 people were arrested in the fourth night of unrest, as family and friends prepare to bury the 17-year-old fatally shot by police.

Associated Press reports that France’s interior ministry said that 1,311 people were arrested as protesters once again clashed with police.

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France protests: nearly 1,000 arrested as riots surge in Marseille and Lyon

Fourth night of demonstrations sees 45,000 police deployed as authorities claim the situation is calmer

Nearly 1,000 people in France were arrested and 80 police injured during a fourth night of unrest triggered by the fatal police shooting of a teenager, but officials claimed the situation was calmer than on the previous night.

Forty-five thousand police officers, including special forces, were deployed to respond to rioting across the country on Friday night, with the situation in two major cities – Marseille and Lyon – highlighted as particular chaotic, with buildings and vehicles torched and stores looted.

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France riots: Macron urges parents to keep teenagers at home

Government struggles to contain continuing unrest after police shooting of teenager in Paris suburb

French riots – latest updates

Emmanuel Macron has urged parents to keep teenagers at home as France’s government said it was reviewing “all options” to contain escalating violence after three nights of rioting sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager at a traffic stop.

Promising additional security forces would be deployed on Friday night, Macron, who left an EU summit in Brussels early to attend a crisis cabinet meeting, appealed to “the responsibility of mothers and fathers” and said it was not the job of the French republic to take their place.

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Hundreds arrested in France on fourth night of unrest as reinforcements sent to Marseille – as it happened

Nationwide ban on bus and tram services follows violence triggered by the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old on Tuesday. This blog is now closed

An ambulance driver was filmed berating police after Nahel’s death. In the video, which has circulated widely online, he shouted at officers:

He’s 17, you see he has a baby face. For a driving licence offence. For a driving licence offence, brother. I know the lad, I watched him grow up. His mother brought him up all alone, his dad left. She’s going to bury her son. For a driving licence offence.

You’re going to see how it goes tonight. Everyone’s sleeping right now – you’re going to see how Nanterre awakens.

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France police shooting: violence erupts for a third consecutive night

Police fire teargas at rioters as 6,000 march through Nanterre to protest against shooting of 17-year-old

Violence has erupted for a third consecutive night in France as Emmanuel Macron struggles to contain mounting anger after the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old boy of north African descent during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.

The officer concerned was charged with voluntary homicide on Thursday and placed in provisional detention in the capital as an estimated 6,000 people marched through the streets of Nanterre in memory of the teenager, identified as Nahel M.

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