Category Archives: France

Macrons to submit scientific evidence to US court to prove Brigitte was not born a man

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French president and wife allege rightwing influencer Candace Owens is using defamatory attacks against them to boost media profile

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife plan to present scientific evidence to a US court to prove that Brigitte Macron was not born a man, the lawyer representing them in a defamation suit has said.

The couple filed the suit in July against Candace Owens, a rightwing influencer, and her business, alleging continuing defamatory attacks against them in order to boost the profile of her media platform, gain more audience and make money.

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First person removed to France under ‘one in, one out’ asylum deal, says UK

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Agreement reached with France allows for removal of asylum seekers who arrive on small boats

The first Channel migrant has been deported to France under the controversial one in, one out deal, the Home Office has confirmed.

It follows three days of cancellations of tickets of asylum seekers due to fly and a high court challenge that halted the imminent removal of a 25-year-old Eritrean man to France on Tuesday evening. He was granted more time to gather evidence relating to his claim that he is a victim of trafficking.

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Picasso painting not seen for 80 years unveiled by Paris auction house

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Portrait of Dora Maar completed in Paris during war had been in private collection since being bought in 1944

A newly discovered painting by Pablo Picasso of the French photographer and painter Dora Maar completed during the German occupation of Paris that has not been seen for 80 years, has been unveiled.

The work, Bust of a Woman in a Flowery Hat (Dora Maar), was finished towards the end of the couple’s turbulent nine-year relationship and shows Maar in a softer, more colourful light than Picasso’s previous portraits of his then lover.

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Shabana Mahmood accuses asylum seekers of making ‘vexatious, last-minute claims’

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Home Office says it will review modern slavery laws to save PM’s ‘one in, one out’ returns deal with France

Shabana Mahmood has accused asylum seekers of making “vexatious, last-minute claims” to avoid removal to France as the Home Office said it would review modern slavery laws to save Keir Starmer’s returns deal.

After an 11th-hour injunction that scuppered Labour’s “one in, one out” scheme, the home secretary said she would stop claimants “suddenly deciding that they are a modern slave on the eve of their removal”, adding that it made a “mockery of our laws and this country’s generosity”.

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Precious gold samples stolen in raid on French natural history museum

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Museum says specimens taken are worth €600,000 based on price of gold but have ‘immeasurable heritage value’

Historic gold samples with a street value of €600,000 but priceless to scientists and researchers have been stolen from the French national natural history museum in the latest of a series of museum robberies in France.

“This has happened in a critical context for cultural establishments in France, particularly museums,” the Paris museum said. “Several public collections have been the victims of robberies in the past months.”

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UK deportation of Eritrean man to France under ‘one-in, one-out’ halted by judge

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The 25-year-old claims to be trafficking victim and won high court challenge in what may prove major blow to Labour policy

An Eritrean man has had his deportation to France under Labour’s “one-in, one-out” scheme halted at the 11th hour after he won a high court challenge.

The 25-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is the first to win a challenge in the high court against the removal scheme, which is itself new. The first removal flights were due to take place on Monday and Tuesday of this week but were cancelled. The man had been due to be on a flight to France at 9am on Wednesday.

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No 10 denies ‘one in one out’ migrant deal with France is ‘shambles’

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Plans to forcibly remove people who arrived in small boats abandoned for second day

Downing Street has denied that the government’s returns deal with France is in chaos after plans to forcibly remove from the UK people arriving in small boats were abandoned for a second day.

Asked by reporters if the latest delay meant the so-called “one in one out” agreement was “a shambles”, the prime minister’s spokesperson said “No”.

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First ‘one in, one out’ deportation flight reportedly takes off without migrants

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Group of people who crossed Channel by boat understood not to have been on Air France plane after legal challenge

The first flight to France carrying people who crossed the Channel under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal has not taken place as planned, according to reports.

A small group of individuals were removed from an Air France flight on Monday due to travel from Heathrow to Paris after a legal challenge, according to multiple newspaper reports.

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France’s credit rating downgraded, with debt forecast to keep rising amid political turmoil

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Fitch downgrade to lowest level on record complicates new prime minister Sebastien Lecornu and President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to control France’s finances

The Fitch agency downgraded France’s credit rating on Friday, as President Emmanuel Macron struggles with political instability and disagreements on how to put the country’s strained public finances in order.

The US rating agency, one of the top global institutions gauging the financial solidity of sovereign borrowers, downgraded France on its ability to pay back debts, from “AA-” to “A+”, the country’s lowest level on record at a major credit rating agency.

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Lawmaker calls for French criminal investigation into TikTok

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Move comes after parliamentary inquiry into social media platform’s psychological effects on minors

A French lawmaker has asked the state prosecutor for a criminal investigation into whether TikTok was responsible for “endangering the lives” of its young users.

Arthur Delaporte, a Socialist MP, said he co-chaired a six-month French parliamentary inquiry into TikTok’s psychological effects on minors and heard testimony from families, social media executives and influencers.

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New French PM Sébastien Lecornu promises ‘profound break’ with past politics

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Lecornu, 39, faces difficult task of gaining enough support from divided parliament to pass a budget

The new French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has promised a “profound break” with past politics as he took over from the unpopular centrist François Bayrou, who was ousted this week over a proposed budget squeeze.

Lecornu, 39, who said “humility” was the key approach, now faces the difficult task of gaining enough support from France’s divided parliament to pass a budget if he is to avoid being swiftly ousted in the same way as Bayrou, and before him, the rightwing Michel Barnier, who only lasted three months.

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Four dead, including two children, attempting to cross Channel to UK in last 24 hours

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Number of attempts to cross Channel has been particularly high for several days, say French authorities

Four people including two children have died in two separate incidents while trying to cross the Channel to the UK in the last 24 hours, while three others are missing in a third incident.

On Tuesday night off the coast of Sangatte, France, three people lost their lives while travelling on a dinghy with 38 people onboard. Three others are missing after an incident in Neufchâtel-Hardelot, France, on a boat with 115 people onboard.

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At least nine pigs’ heads found outside mosques in Paris region

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Police do not rule out possibility of finding more as incidents raise alarm over increase of anti-Muslim hatred

At least nine pigs’ heads were found outside several mosques in the Paris region on Tuesday, the city’s police chief said, prompting alarm over rising anti-Muslim hatred.

“Pigs’ heads have been left in front of certain mosques ... Four in Paris and five in the inner suburbs,” Laurent Nuñez told a press conference, adding that officers were not “ruling out the possibility of finding more”.

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Emmanuel Macron appoints his third prime minister in a year

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Sébastien Lecornu, a presidential ally, is tasked with bringing France’s divided parties together to pass a budget

Sébastien Lecornu, a close ally of Emmanuel Macron, has been appointed prime minister, tasked with consulting France’s divided political parties to try to find a consensus on the budget.

The 39-year-old began his political career in the traditional rightwing party of Nicolas Sarkozy before moving to Macron’s centre in 2017 and is seen as fiercely loyal to the president.

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Bayrou’s fall and a divided parliament hardly offer the stability Macron needs

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The French president will have to choose a new prime minister after resistance to austerity budget unites left and far-right in opposition

As the French president, Emmanuel Macron, faces a crucial moment on the international stage this month, with the recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN assembly and diplomacy over Gaza and Ukraine, he has once again been shaken by a damaging political crisis at home.

The centrist prime minister, François Bayrou, was toppled on Monday night in a parliamentary confidence vote, leaving Macron scrambling to appoint his third prime minister in a year, and the fifth since his second term as president began in 2022.

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Budget compromise needed if PM ousted, says French finance minister

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Éric Lombard says he hopes François Bayrou will survive vote and dismisses talk of looming debt crisis

The French finance minister, Éric Lombard, has said the government would have to compromise on plans to cut the budget deficit if the prime minister, François Bayrou, is toppled in a confidence vote next week.

Lombard told the Financial Times that fresh negotiations would require the government to make concessions to the left to reduce the size of the fiscal package if the government falls.

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Lyon mayor condemns ‘Free Gaza’ defacement of Holocaust memorial

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Mayor says city stands firm against antisemitism after message scratched into black marble memorial

A Holocaust memorial unveiled only eight months ago in the French city of Lyon has been inscribed with the words “Free Gaza”, local officials said, amid growing concern about antisemitic incidents in France.

The words were scratched into the black marble memorial late on Saturday, the city’s mayor, Grégory Doucet, said. Yonathan Arfi, of the Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), posted a photo on social media and called the incident “despicable”.

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Family of French woman killed by ex-partner to go to court to find out why she was not protected

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Family submitted a case last year accusing police, social services and courts of ‘serious failings’ but had no response

The family of a woman killed by an ex-partner who bombarded her with hundreds of messages and calls will ask a judge on Monday to force the French authorities to explain why they failed to protect her.

Sandra Pla had complained to police three times about Mickaël Falou’s threatening behaviour over a period of six months, but her application for a protection order was rejected.

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Car rams into crowd outside bar in northern France, killing one

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Police launch investigation into escalation of dispute in bar in Évreux, Normandy, after five others injured

A man has driven a car into a crowd outside a bar in northern France after a dispute in which one person was killed and five others injured, according to prosecutors.

The incident took place in the town of Évreux, Normandy, at about 4am on Saturday.

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Safety and space at risk as SUVs reach 30% of car market in English cities, researchers warn

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Campaigners call for Paris-style parking charges amid fears big vehicles are taking up excessive public space

The number of giant cars in England’s cities has increased tenfold in recent years, according to researchers, who warn the vehicles are taking up excessive public space and posing a threat to public safety.

Analysis published by Clean Cities has found SUVs have gone from 3% to 30% of existing cars in the past two decades. In London, the number of SUVs has increased from about 80,000 in 2002 to about 800,000 in 2023.

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