About 1,500 lorries are stuck in Kent after France imposed a ban on any accompanied freight or cargo entering the country from Britain because of the new coronavirus variant discovered in the UK. The move triggered government crisis plans at Dover and other major pinch points, with some drivers redirected to a nearby airfield to ease congestion on the roads
Professionals and French nationals will have to provide negative Covid test before crossing
France is expected to reopen its border with the UK but only to its own nationals, French residents and professionals such as truck drivers, all of whom will have to provide a recent negative test, France’s public broadcaster has reported.
Britons or other non-French nationals with a permanent residence in France will be able to return, but the border is set to remain closed to all other non-French citizens in the UK, France Info said. It was not yet clear how long the measures would be in place.
Continue reading...Step would allow Tehran to come back into compliance with deal, so long as US sanctions were lifted
EU foreign ministers have agreed not to set fresh preconditions on a revival of the Iran nuclear deal, believing Tehran and Washington should be able to come back into full compliance with the agreement without at this stage needing to accept to extend or strengthen it.
The step removes one of the potential roadblocks to Iran coming back into compliance with the existing deal, so long as the US lifts its sanctions and complies with UN resolutions.
Continue reading...India joins France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Bulgaria in flight bans over new strain; US aid bill should have votes to pass
That’s all from me, Caroline Davies. Thank you for your time. Handing over now to my colleague Aamna Mohdin.
The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, Ken Marsh, has said there is “no way” officers will be knocking on the doors of “normal” households in London to check coronavirus restrictions were being followed now the city is in Tier 4.
“We won’t be knocking on people’s doors at all, unless there is a large group and noise, ie a party or something like that.
Continue reading...France’s 48-hour ban on freight hauliers from Britain came as a surprise, the UK transport secretary has admitted, amid expected chaos at British ports. But Grant Shapps said the disruption would not cause food and medicine shortages in the short term because other freight routes remain available
Continue reading...Transport secretary says UK aims to resolve issue ‘as soon as possible’ amid fears over new Covid strain
France’s 48-hour ban on freight hauliers from Britain was “surprising”, the UK transport secretary has said, amid expected chaos at British ports.
Although Grant Shapps said the disruption was not a “specific problem” in regards to food and medicine shortages in the short term, the government’s aim was to “get this resolved as soon as possible”.
Continue reading...As the police search for Esther Dingley winds down in the Pyrenees, the theories around her disappearance multiply
Police in Spain have begun scaling back the search for a British hiker missing in the Pyrenees, almost a month after she disappeared without a trace.
Sharing an update of their investigation into the puzzling disappearance of Esther Dingley, the Guardia Civil also said that they were no longer using helicopters to scan the vast mountain range for signs of the 37-year-old.
Continue reading...Arrest of Pakistanis held on suspicion of inciting attacker comes after court convicts 14 people linked to 2015 terrorist massacre
French authorities have charged and detained four Pakistanis suspected of links to a meat cleaver attack by a compatriot outside the former offices of the Charlie Hebdo weekly that wounded two people, the national counter-terrorism prosecutor’s office has said.
The four male suspects, aged 17 to 21, were in contact with the attacker, a source familiar with the case said on Friday.
Continue reading...Jean-Luc Brunel charged in France with sexual harassment and the rape of minors over 15 years old
A modelling agent associated with the disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein has been charged in France with sexual harassment and the rape of minors over 15 years old.
Jean-Luc Brunel was arrested on Wednesday at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was preparing to take a flight to Senegal.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron has blamed his coronavirus infection on a combination of negligence and bad luck and urged his compatriots to stay safe in a self-shot video. The French president was isolating with symptoms that included headaches, fatigue and a dry cough. 'Despite everything I caught this virus,' Macron said. 'Perhaps, doubtless, a moment of negligence, a moment of bad luck too.'
Continue reading...Italy prepares for national lockdown over Christmas; Spanish minister warns of third wave
Austria is to enter a third lockdown from Boxing Day but will stage mass coronavirus tests in mid-January to determine who will be exempt from certain restrictions, the government announced on Friday.
Italy is preparing to outline new measures that could lead to a complete lockdown over the Christmas and new year period, while the Spanish government has warned of a possible “third wave” of infections.
Continue reading...Macron and several other European leaders who recently met him go into self-isolation
Emmanuel Macron has been diagnosed with Covid-19 after developing symptoms, the Élysée Palace has announced, forcing several other European leaders who had recently met the French president into self-isolation.
In a brief statement on Thursday, the palace said Macron had a PCR test as soon as the symptoms had appeared and would “self-isolate for seven days in line with the health protocol applicable to everyone”.
Continue reading...Defendants found guilty on range of charges from membership of criminal network to complicity in attacks
A court in France has convicted 14 people in relation to the January 2015 terror attacks in Paris on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket.
A total of 17 people were murdered across three days in a series of attacks that horrified the nation. All three assailants were killed in shootouts with the police, leaving only accomplices to face trial.
Continue reading...Paris mayor to pay fine of €90,000 for breaking national rules in 2018 on gender parity
Paris city authorities have been fined for employing too many women in senior positions, a decision mocked as absurd by the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, on Tuesday.
The fine of €90,000 (£81,000) was demanded by France’s public service ministry on the grounds that Paris city hall had broken national rules on gender parity in its 2018 staffing.
Continue reading...Liverpool have paid tribute to their former manager Gérard Houllier after his death was confirmed at the age of 73.
RMC sport and the sports daily L’Equipe confirmed that he had died after having a heart operation in Paris, with Liverpool issuing a statement in recognition of the manager who led them to the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup treble in 2000-01.
Continue reading...People in the French capital are hurt and baffled by the UK’s attitude to France as a no-deal Brexit looms
At the Châtelet branch of Boulinier, a Paris bookshop that has stocked English language books since 1845, shoppers were yesterday reflecting on a spate of British newspaper headlines threatening to send Royal Navy gunboats to board invading French trawlers in the event of a failure to agree a trade deal.
Anglophiles like Didier Aubert, 72, a retired civil servant, said the threats were “ridiculous”.
Continue reading...Esther Dingley has not been seen for nearly three weeks and officers say they have no answers
Almost three weeks have passed since Esther Dingley disappeared in the Pyrenees mountains on the French-Spanish border, and police in both countries admit they are no closer to finding her.
French gendarmerie captain Jean-Parc Bordinaro’s frustration was palpable. “Normally at the beginning of an inquiry we have something to go on, but we have nothing,” he said by phone. “Absolutely nothing.”
Continue reading...French president responds to angry protests and concerns force is losing public confidence
Emmanuel Macron has announced a national consultation on reforming the police amid concerns the force is losing the confidence of the French public.
The move comes after multiple allegations of police violence – several captured on film – in recent weeks and angry protests over a new law giving officers powers that critics say threaten civil and press freedom.
Continue reading...Paris’s concerns about UK demands are widely shared, analysts, politicians and EU diplomats say
Emmanuel Macron may be talking tougher than the rest of the EU27 as Brexit talks reach their endgame, but despite claims to the contrary in London and by a UK media that always enjoys pointing fingers across the Channel, France is far from isolated.
Headlines such as “Le bust-up” and “France derails Brexit talks” do not reflect European reality, analysts, politicians and EU diplomats have insisted, saying Paris’s fundamental concerns are widely shared across the EU27.
Continue reading...Since the Covid-19 outbreak, French care home resident Colette Dupas's contact with her daughters has been limited to talking via video call or through a window. Now, thanks to an inflatable tunnel and two plastic sleeves, the 97-year-old has been able to feel their touch. Made from hermetically sealed plastic film, the 'hug bubble' allows care home residents – isolated from the outside world to avoid catching the virus – to hold hands and embrace their visiting relatives through a sleeve. Once visitors leave, care home employees disinfect the plastic sheet, ready for the next encounter
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