Category Archives: France

EU agrees to chop meaty names from vegetarian and vegan food products

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Lawmakers will outlaw use of 31 meat-related names as part of efforts to help livestock farmers in food supply markets

EU lawmakers have agreed to ban meaty names such as steak and bacon for vegetarian and vegan foods, but “veggie burgers” and “meat-free sausages” will remain on the table.

Negotiators from the European parliament and EU council of ministers found a recipe for compromise on rules for food names on Thursday, although critics said they were creating needless complexity.

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France to increase nuclear arsenal and European weapons cooperation, Macron says

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French president says Paris could deploy nuclear-capable fighter jets to countries such as Germany and Poland

France will increase the size of its nuclear arsenal for the first time in decades and significantly intensify nuclear weapons cooperation with eight European allies including the UK as part of a “major” strengthening of its deterrence doctrine, Emmanuel Macron has said.

Amid growing concern among European leaders about wavering US commitments to help defend the continent, the French president said on Monday that Paris could deploy nuclear-capable Rafale fighter jets to partner countries such as Germany and Poland.

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Judge adjourns Paris trial of Islam scholar accused of raping three women

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Former Oxford professor Tariq Ramadan did not appear in court as he was in a Geneva hospital, according to lawyers

The prominent Swiss academic and Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan has not appeared in court for the first day of his trial in Paris on charges of raping three women in France between 2009 and 2016.

The head judge in the case adjourned proceedings until Wednesday and ordered a medical report on Ramadan’s health, after his lawyers said he was in hospital in Geneva because of his multiple sclerosis.

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Suspected Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker seized in North Sea

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Belgian special forces boarded the Ethera, which was sailing under the flag of Guinea, on Saturday night

Belgium has seized an oil tanker believed to form part of the so-called “shadow fleet” used by Russia to circumvent western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Special forces assisted by French helicopters boarded the ship in a clandestine operation in the North Sea on Saturday night, Belgium’s defence minister, Theo Francken, said on Sunday.

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An ugly year for the Louvre: where does the world’s biggest museum go from here?

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After a heist and the departure of its boss, the French institution wrestles with water leaks, strikes and much-criticised plans for a €1bn renovation

Just over a year ago, Laurence des Cars, the intellectually brilliant (if famously prickly) former head of the largest and most-visited museum in the world, wrote a somewhat alarming note to her boss, France’s culture minister.

Des Cars, who on Tuesday resigned as president of the Louvre, lamented the advanced state of disrepair of the iconic museum’s buildings and galleries.

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Deaths of 22 children in Channel due to ‘catastrophic failure’ by UK and France, NGO says

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Project Play finds UK taxpayers are funding ‘record child fatalities’ and ‘repeated violence’ against children in northern France

The deaths of 22 children while trying to cross the Channel in the last two years, along with the mistreatment of thousands of others, were due to “catastrophic failures” of the UK and French governments, according to a new report.

Project Play, an NGO that has worked with 2,192 children hoping to cross the Channel from northern France to the UK to claim asylum in the last two years, has documented the impact of the hostile conditions in northern France due to regular teargassing, evictions and dinghy-slashing by the French police.

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‘Crazy, without limits’: Paris disco haunt of Jagger and Grace Jones to reopen

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Legendary nightclub Le Palace, where Serge Gainsbourg and Prince also performed, to rise again

In the late 1970s, Le Palace in Paris’s busy theatre district was one of continental Europe’s most famous nightclubs.

On the opening night on 1 March 1978, Grace Jones stunned VIP guests with her rendition of Edith Piaf’s classic La Vie en Rose. Later, Serge Gainsbourg and Prince came to perform, Bob Marley was photographed there and Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol and Karl Lagerfeld were part of a glittering cast of international celebrities, politicians, designers and models who came to drink and dance.

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Brigitte Bardot tribute at the César awards greeted with boos

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A shout of ‘racist’ could also be heard during the segment at France’s version of the Oscars

A tribute to Brigitte Bardot at the Césars, France’s version of the Oscars, on Thursday was greeted with boos. In a video clip posted on social media, boos can clearly be heard among the applause as the tributes, and a shout of “racist!” is also audible.

Bardot, who died in December aged 91, became arguably the most celebrated figure in postwar French cinema for films such as And God Created Woman and Contempt, but after quitting acting in the early 1970s her later years were marred by increasing political activity on the far right, resulting in a string of convictions for inciting racial hatred.

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Louvre president resigns as jewellery heist inquiry reveals ‘systemic failures’

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Laurence des Cars steps down days after parliamentary inquiry called Paris museum a ‘state within a state’

The president of the Louvre in Paris has resigned, four months after a gang of thieves broke into the museum’s Apollo gallery and made off with €88m (£76m) of Napoleonic jewellery in France’s most dramatic heist in decades.

Laurence des Cars, who had offered to step down in the immediate aftermath of the burglary, tendered her resignation to Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday in what the French president called “an act of responsibility”, the Elysée Palace said.

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US ambassador to France vows not to interfere in its domestic affairs

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Charles Kushner, father of president’s son-in-law Jared, failed to show up to meeting to explain US comments relating to death of far-right activist

Donald Trump’s envoy to Paris has called France’s foreign minister and pledged not to interfere in the country’s domestic affairs, a day after he was barred from talking to government officials for failing to attend a formal meeting at the ministry.

The foreign ministry said on Monday that Charles Kushner would not be permitted to carry out his diplomatic duties until he had explained his refusal to comply with the summons over US comments about the killing of a far-right activist in France.

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Lovejoy episode helps antiques dealer identify stolen Napoleon III artefacts

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Repeat of BBC series gave clue to Paul Gostelow about 19th-century altar cards taken from crypt in Hampshire

Two priceless artefacts stolen more than a decade ago from the crypt of Napoleon III in England have been recovered after an antiques dealer realised he had them while watching a repeat of the comedy drama Lovejoy.

The wooden 19th-century altar cards were taken in a burglary at St Michael’s Abbey in Farnborough, Hampshire in February 2014 and were feared lost for ever.

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France to summon US ambassador over comments on far-right activist’s death

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Official US social media accounts posted about rise of ‘violent radical leftism’ after killing of Quentin Deranque

The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has said he will summon Charles Kushner, the US ambassador to France, over comments related to the killing of the French far-right activist Quentin Deranque.

Deranque was beaten to death in Lyon last week during a fight with allegedly hard-left activists.

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French prosecutor seeks murder charges over killing of far-right activist

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Political tensions rise after fatal attack at protest in Lyon as Emmanuel Macron hits out over remarks by Italian PM

A French prosecutor is seeking murder charges against seven suspects in the fatal beating of a far-right activist that has fuelled political anger beyond France’s borders, prompting Emmanuel Macron to tell Italy’s Giorgia Meloni to keep out of French affairs.

Quentin Deranque, 23, died from head injuries after being attacked by at least six people on the sidelines of a far-right protest in Lyon on 12 February. Most of the 11 suspects who have been detained are from far-left movements.

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Production of French-German fighter jet threatened by rivalries, chief executive says

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Relations between French company Dassault and the German unit of Airbus are reportedly ‘very strained’

The leaders of France and Germany have a “strong willingness” to build a new fighter jet together despite bitter internal rivalries, according to the chief executive of engine manufacturer Safran.

A row over who should lead between French aerospace company Dassault and the German unit of Airbus has threatened to break apart the countries’ efforts to make a next-generation fighter jet.

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African leaders push for recognition of colonial crimes and reparations

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Algerian foreign minister says African countries and peoples continue to pay a heavy price for colonialism

African leaders are pushing to have colonial-era crimes recognised, criminalised and addressed through reparations.

At a conference in the Algerian capital, Algiers, diplomats and leaders convened to advance an African Union resolution passed at a meeting earlier this year calling for justice and reparations for victims of colonialism.

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Bridge to the past: JR to wrap Pont Neuf again, 40 years after artistic forebears

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Exclusive: French artist planning to cover bridge over Seine in tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude

The enigmatic French artist JR will undertake what he says is his biggest ever challenge next year when he “wraps” Pont Neuf, the oldest standing bridge across the Seine River in Paris, in a tribute to a monumental art project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

For three weeks next June, the 232-metre (761ft) long bridge will be wrapped in fabric, 40 years after the married artists known for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations did the same thing.

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As France prepares military expansion, how is Europe beefing up its armies?

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European nations are rushing to bolster their defences amid Russia threat and uncertainty of US support

France will this week become the latest EU country to set out plans to expand its army, with Emmanuel Macron expected to announce on Thursday that military service will be restored – albeit on a voluntary basis – nearly 30 years after the end of conscription.

In the face of Russia’s military threat and uncertainty over the US’s commitment to defending its transatlantic allies, Europe is rushing to bolster its defence industry and its deployment capability after radically cutting them back since the cold war.

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French winemakers ‘battle for survival’ as minister prepares for crisis talks

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Vineyard owners say sales slump, Trump tariffs and worst harvest in 70 years have put producers in danger of closure

French winemakers are often accused of viewing the glass as half empty. Dire warnings about the state of the sector – one of the three pillars of the country’s economy – are a hardy perennial blamed on everything from geopolitics to a drop in the number of drinkers.

Before a crisis meeting with the agriculture minister on Monday, vineyard owners say an unprecedented series of setbacks, including some of the worst harvests in 70 years, has left many of them on their last legs.

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Nicolas Sarkozy to write prison memoir on his 20 days in jail

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Former French president complains about noise in extract from A Prisoner’s Diary, to be released next month

Nicolas Sarkozy is to publish a book next month called A Prisoner’s Diary detailing his 20 days in jail.

The book was announced 11 days after the former French president was released from prison while he appeals against his conviction for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain election campaign funds from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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Angoulême comics festival in crisis as creators and publishers declare boycott

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French government withdraws funding after claims of toxic management and dismissal of staff member who lodged rape complaint

One of the world’s most prestigious comic book festivals is under threat of cancellation after leading graphic novelists and publishers announced they would boycott the event and the French government withdrew a tranche of its funding.

In the biggest crisis in its illustrious history, the Angoulême festival of la bande dessinée (comic strip) may not take place in 2026 after claims of toxic management and the dismissal of a member of staff who had lodged a rape complaint.

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