President said he was against members of far-right RN attending ceremony for Missak Manouchian
The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is set to defy requests to stay away from a national ceremony to honour a second world war resistance hero.
A spokesperson for Le Pen described President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion she should not attend the event on Wednesday as “outrageous”.
Continue reading...Mati Diop, the director of Dahomey, which charts the restitution of 26 objects to Benin, says the tiny number involved is ‘humiliating’
The first major return of looted treasures from Europe to Africa in the 21st century has left a lingering feeling of humiliation because of the lack of follow-up action, a French-Senegalese film-maker who accompanied a hoard of artefacts on their journey from Paris to their country of origin has said.
In her film Dahomey, which premiered at the Berlin film festival on Sunday, the director, Mati Diop, documents the 2021 journey of 26 treasures that the commander of French forces in Senegal looted from the royal palace of the kingdom of Dahomey, part of modern-day Benin, in 1890.
Continue reading...Comments draw Britain into debate about European security without US providing bulk of Nato’s nuclear deterrent
The UK could contribute to a new European nuclear shield if Donald Trump becomes US president again, a senior German minister has suggested, drawing British politicians into the debate about how Europe’s security could be bolstered in the event of the Republican frontrunner winning in November.
Questions over a European nuclear deterrence have intensified after Trump’s remarks on Saturday that he would not defend any Nato member that failed to spend 2% of its gross domestic product on defence – and would even encourage Russia to continue attacking.
Continue reading...Appeal court sentence on hold after lawyer says former president will contest guilty verdict at France’s highest court
The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been given a six-month jail term on appeal, after being found guilty of illegal campaign financing for the vast, showman-style political rallies of his 2012 re-election attempt.
The Paris court of appeal confirmed a lower court’s guilty verdict for Sarkozy, who was convicted of hiding illegal overspending in the presidential election he lost to the Socialist candidate François Hollande.
Continue reading...Court orders regulator to examine balance and independence of CNews, described by critics as ‘French Fox News’
France’s highest administrative court has given the country’s media regulator six months to examine whether the television channel CNews is conforming to rules on balanced and independent journalism.
Tuesday’s ruling was a victory for the press freedom organisation Reporters sans Frontières (RSF), which had asked the state council to overturn the regulator Arcom’s refusal to investigate the channel, described by critics as the “French Fox News”.
Continue reading...Minister says scheme to help low-income households and cut emissions is ‘victim of its own success’
The French government has suspended an electric car leasing scheme after only six weeks following a surge in demand that more than doubled the number of vehicles required.
Officials said the scheme, launched in December to help low-income households and cut carbon emissions, would be relaunched next year.
Continue reading...Network operating in western Europe is ‘paving way for new wave of online manipulation’ in crucial election year, French agency says
French military and cybersecurity experts say they have identified a Moscow-based network spreading propaganda and disinformation in western Europe.
France’s Viginum agency, which was set up in 2021 to detect digital interference from foreign entities aimed at influencing public opinion, says Russia is paving the way for a new wave of online manipulation in the run-up to the European elections and other crucial votes this year.
Continue reading...Far right says measure should be adopted across France but critics say change breaches fundamental constitutional rights
Emmanuel Macron has been accused of walking a dangerous legal and political tightrope with a proposal to restrict access to French nationality for people born on the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte to immigrant parents.
The far right has welcomed the move, which critics say breaches fundamental constitutional rights, and insisted it should be applied to the whole of France.
Continue reading...Interior minister Gérald Darmanin plans to change constitution to remove birthplace right to citizenship on island that is part of France
French authorities have announced a controversial plan to amend the constitution to revoke birthplace citizenship on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, claiming it would help stem an immigration crisis.
The reform was announced by interior minister Gérald Darmanin on Sunday after he arrived on the island, the country’s poorest department (administrative region), following three weeks of protests there.
Continue reading...Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do
A picture of a smartphone with a red line through it serves as a warning in the window of a hairdresser’s shop in a French village that has voted to ban people scrolling on their phones in public. “Everyone is struggling with too much screen time,” said Ludivine, a cardiology nurse, as she had her hair cut into a bob, leaving her phone out of sight in her bag. “I voted in favour, this could be a solution.”
Seine-Port, in the Seine-et-Marne area south of Paris, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, last weekend voted yes in a referendum to restrict smartphone use in public, banning adults and children from scrolling on their devices while walking down the street, while sitting with others on a park bench, while in shops, cafes or eating in restaurants and while parents wait for their children in front of the school gates. Those who might check their phone’s map when lost are instead being encouraged to ask for directions.
Continue reading...Guinness World Records initially said 7.2-metre structure made from more than 700,000 matches broke rules
A man has been awarded the Guinness world record for creating the tallest structure using matchsticks, after his Eiffel Tower replica was initially rejected.
Richard Plaud, from France, said he had been on an “emotional rollercoaster” this week, after spending 4,200 hours building his model from more than 706,000 matches and 23kg of glue. “For eight years, I’ve always thought that I was building the tallest matchstick structure,” he said.
Continue reading...French actor alleges arthouse film-maker Benoît Jacquot groomed her when she was 14 and he was 39
French prosecutors have opened a rape inquiry after the actor Judith Godrèche filed a complaint against the arthouse film director Benoît Jacquot, who she says groomed her when she was 14 and he was 39.
A formal complaint was filed against Jacquot, 77, for the alleged rape of a minor by a person in a position of authority. The French police’s specialist juvenile protection unit is handling the inquiry, which will investigate several allegations, including rape of a minor by a person in a position of authority, rape, domestic violence and sexual assault.
Continue reading...Catherine Colonna will lead inquiry after Israel’s accusation that at least 12 UN agency workers were involved in 7 October assault
A former French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, is to lead an independent review of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees after accusations by Israel that at least 12 staff members were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.
The review was ordered by Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), last month before the publication of the Israeli allegations and a subsequent mass exodus of donors led by the US and UK.
Continue reading...The referendum comes as the city aims to reduce emissions by targeting wealthy drivers in large, polluting cars
Parisians have voted to triple parking costs for sports utility vehicles (SUVs), as the city aims to tackle air pollution and climate breakdown by targeting rich drivers in heavy, large and polluting cars.
In a referendum on Sunday, which was closely watched by other capital cities, including London, 54.6% voted in favour of special parking fees for SUVs, according to provisional results. However, the turnout – at about 5.7% of Paris’s registered voters – was lower than green campaigners had hoped for.
Continue reading...French government to hear last-ditch appeal this week over new culture minister’s ‘compromise’ for Pavillon des Sources
Campaigners battling to save part of Marie Curie’s Paris laboratory have said the decision to take it apart brick by brick and rebuild it is “totally absurd”.
They warned that once the Pavillon des Sources is dismantled under the “compromise” plan announced by the new culture minister last week, it is unlikely to be restored.
Continue reading...Police arrest man who was reportedly tackled by passengers after leaving three victims with non-life-threatening injuries
A man has been arrested after three people were stabbed at a busy railway station in Paris.
Reports suggested the alleged attacker was first tackled by passengers and a security agent at the Gare de Lyon just before 8am on Saturday, before officers arrived at the scene. Police said early indications suggested the attack was not terrorism-related.
Continue reading...Green campaigners hope to win landmark vote, which is being watched closely by other cities such as London
Green activists in Paris are making a final push to win a landmark vote tripling parking charges for SUVs in a move aimed at tackling air pollution that is being closely watched by other cities such as London.
Paris residents will be asked to vote on Sunday for or against a special parking tariff for heavy, large and polluting SUVs parked by non-residents, as the French capital aims to target rich, out-of-town drivers entering the city in order to tackle climate breakdown and air pollution.
Continue reading...Demonstrations calling for help with taxes, costs and environmental rules overshadow EU leaders’ summit
Europe’s farming sector is facing a big crisis and must “profoundly” change its rules, Emmanuel Macron has said after a European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels was overshadowed by protesting farmers hurling eggs, dumping manure and lighting fires.
Speaking as hundreds of farmers from Belgium, the Netherlands and elsewhere blocked streets around the European parliament with tractors, the French president said there should be a joint EU mechanism to guarantee fair prices paid to farmers by food giants and supermarkets. He said regulations should be simplified, after weeks of farmer protests across Europe have blockaded motorways.
Continue reading...Constitutional change could face fight in Senate after national assembly approves measure by 493 votes to 30
France’s lower house of parliament has overwhelmingly approved a measure to inscribe abortion as a “guaranteed freedom” in the constitution, a pledge made by the president, Emmanuel Macron, last year.
But the controversial plan now goes to the upper-house Senate, where it faces resistance from the conservative Republicans and the far-right National Rally.
Continue reading...France and UK also agree to deploy more drones and sea barriers to stop small boats crossing Channel
UK security experts will help France to protect the Paris Olympics in a sign of closer cooperation, the Home Office has said.
Both governments also plan to deploy more drones and sea barriers to prevent small boats carrying asylum seekers from crossing the Channel.
Continue reading...