French president seeks to overcome ‘misunderstanding’ during appearance on Italian TV
Emmanuel Macron has said that the recent diplomatic clashes between Italy and France were “not serious” and needed to be surmounted for the greater good of Europe.
In an interview on Fabio Fazio’s talkshow on the Italian television channel Rai 1, the French president also warned against nationalism, arguing that “we need a strong Europe”.
Continue reading...Amadou Koufa appears in video three months after French armed forces minister declared him ‘neutralised’
A senior jihadist leader in Mali whom France said it had killed last November survived the attack and appears in a new propaganda video mocking French and Malian forces.
The French armed forces minister, Florence Parly, told parliament a few days after the 22 November raid that Amadou Koufa, a radical preacher and senior leader of a militant group linked to al-Qaida, was one of 35 fighters who had been “neutralised”.
Continue reading...Retailer faced outrage from some of Macron’s ministers against Muslim head-coverings
The French sports store Decathlon has cancelled a plan to put a sports hijab on the market in France after several politicians, including one from Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, called for a boycott.
The retailer’s plain, lightweight running headscarf, which covers the hair but not the face, is already on sale in Morocco and was to be extended to France and worldwide. But after a social media storm and outrage from some politicians against Muslim head coverings, the company backtracked and said the garment would not go on sale “at the present time” in France.
Continue reading...Protesters use tactic to fight Emmanuel Macron’s proposed changes to high school exam
Teachers in Paris and western France have begun giving every pupil in their classes top marks in tests and evaluations in protest at changes to France’s baccalaureate exams.
The baccalaureate, which pupils take in their last year of high school, is based on a structure created under Napoleon in 1808. A revamp of the education system by the president, Emmanuel Macron, has been presented as key to his pro-business project to modernise the Frenc economy.
Continue reading...Alain Finkielkraut says the protester who screamed ‘go back to Tel Aviv’ is part of a new wave of antisemitism
The French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut is at home: an airy apartment with walls packed floor to ceiling with books in one of Paris’s more chic arrondissements.
Today, however, the writer and commentator does not feel entirely at home in France. That feeling was heightened dramatically when, last weekend, a gilet jaune protester shouted at him that he was a “dirty Zionist shit” who should “go back to Tel Aviv”.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across France in protest against an increase in the number of antisemitic attacks in the country. Recent incidents have included a Jewish cemetery being desecrated with swastikas and the philosopher Alain Finkielkraut being subjected to a torrent of hate speech on the fringe of a gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protest in Paris
Thousands take to streets of France after antisemitic attacks
Continue reading...Surge in ‘poisonous’ acts includes Jewish cemetery desecrated with swastikas
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across France to protest against a recent rise in antisemitic attacks.
The prime minister, Édouard Philippe, was expected to attend the march in the capital along with ministers and lawmakers, while the president, Emmanuel Macron, will hold a moment’s silence at the city’s Holocaust memorial.
Continue reading...The late designer spent 65 years at the top of fashion, but he was equally known for his put-downs, his personal style and even his pets
Continue reading...Items belonging to Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux found at Shelley beach on NSW mid-north coast
A British tourist and a French tourist are missing at a beach on the New South Wales mid-north coast.
Personal items belonging to Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux were found by walkers on Shelley Beach, near Port Macquarie, 390km north of Sydney, at sunrise on Monday.
Continue reading...Two former military pilots, a customs officer and celebrity bodyguard among the accused
Sitting on the asphalt at Punta Cana international airport in the Dominican Republic, the private plane was about to take off for an overnight flight to Saint-Tropez in France when police swooped.
Inside the aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 50, officers found four Frenchmen – two pilots and two passengers – along with 680kg of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €20m (£17.5m), in 26 battered suitcases.
Continue reading...Germany will put fighters on trial, while Hungary says they should not be allowed back
Donald Trump’s demand that Germany, France and Britain repatriate and prosecute their citizens fighting in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe as countries baulk at the difficulties involved in taking back hundreds of alleged jihadis.
Germany pledged on Monday to put its foreign fighters on trial, but warned their repatriation would be “extremely difficult”, while France said it would not act for now on Trump’s call but would take militants back on a “case-by-case” basis.
Continue reading...Police protect philosopher Alain Finkielkraut after he is targeted during 14th weekend of protests
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned antisemitic abuse of a leading intellectual by gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protestors and said it would not be tolerated.
Police intervened to protect philosopher and writer Alain Finkielkraut after he was targeted by a group of protestors on the fringe of a demonstration in central Paris on Saturday, according to videos posted on social networks.
Continue reading...France reports 74% rise in offences against Jews and Germany records 60% surge in violent attacks
Antisemitism is rising sharply across Europe, experts have said, as France reported a 74% increase in the number of offences against Jews last year and Germany said the number of violent antisemitic attacks had surged by more than 60%.
Related: Hungary tells UK Jewish group to 'mind its own business' over antisemitism
Continue reading...Ismaël Emelien departs as president reshuffles team in wake of gilets jaunes protests
Emmanuel Macron’s closest special adviser has become the latest to quit the Élysée Palace as the French president reshuffles his team to counter the gilets jaunes anti-government protests and an ongoing scandal around a former security aide.
Ismaël Emelien, 31, had helped mastermind the 2017 election campaign in which Macron promised a mix of right- and leftwing ideas that would destroy France’s tired political party system. Emelien took the role at the Élysee after Macron’s defeat of the far-right Marine Le Pen in 2017, advising on how the now-president could continue to “disrupt” traditional politics.
Continue reading...Five suspended over role in group that allegedly harassed other journalists for years
A clique of French journalists has been accused of bullying female colleagues via social media.
Six people have been suspended for their role in the closed Facebook group Ligue du LOL, a macho online “boys’ club” that reportedly harassed female and minority ethnic journalists for years.
Continue reading...French research involved more than 44,000 people over a period of seven years
Eating a lot of heavily processed foods is linked to a risk of earlier death, according to a study.
A team in France worked with more than 44,000 people in a study running from 2009 called NutriNet-Santé. They looked at how much of their diet – and calories – was made up of “ultra-processed” foods – those made in factories with industrial ingredients and additives, such as dried ready meals, cakes and biscuits.
Continue reading...Scuffles break out as protesters march on National Assembly and Senate in Paris
Thousands of French gilets jaunes (yellow vests) demonstrators marched on Saturdayin what was their 13th weekend of action. There were scuffles in Paris and a demonstrator’s hand was mangled by a small explosive.
There was also an overnight arson attack on the Brittany residence of the National Assembly head, Richard Ferrand, though no immediate link was made to the actions against President Emmanuel Macron.
Continue reading...David Ibbotson, who was flying light aircraft that crashed in Channel, has not been found
The family of the missing pilot of the plane carrying the footballer Emiliano Sala have set up a fundraising page for donations to restart a search for him.
Sala’s body was recovered and formally identified earlier this week but David Ibbotson, who was flying the light aircraft, has not been found.
Continue reading...Derman Tamimou from Togo found lying unconscious on side of road between Piedmont and Hautes-Alpes
French magistrates have opened an inquiry into “involuntary manslaughter” after a man died of hypothermia after trying to cross into France from Italy.
A truck driver found Derman Tamimou from Togo on Thursday morning, lying unconscious on the side of a highway that links the northern Italian region of Piedmont with France’s Hautes-Alpes. He was taken to hospital in the French town of Briançon, but it is unclear whether he died there or was already dead at the scene. He was found between Briançon and Montgenèvre, an Alpine village about 6 miles from the Italian border.
Continue reading...The French ambassador’s recall ought to remind Italy’s populist leaders that they need some friends in Europe
Diplomatic etiquette would normally classify the recall of an ambassador for “consultations” as a middle-order symbol of displeasure. During the cold war, the summoning, or withdrawal, of an ambassador was mundane. More recently, Hungary pulled its ambassador from the Netherlands in 2017, in response to criticism by the outgoing Dutch ambassador in Hungary.
Related: France recalls Rome envoy over worst verbal onslaught 'since the war'
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