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Here is a map of the risks in France.
Météo-France, the French national meteorological service, is warning about very strong winds.
Continue reading...Category Archives: France
Emmanuel Macron vows to boost French cooperation with Kazakhstan
French president compliments leader for refusing to side with Moscow over Ukraine
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has vowed to boost cooperation with Kazakhstan at a time of “multiple crises in the world” as he began a trip to central Asia, a region long regarded as Russia’s back yard, which has drawn fresh western attention since the war in Ukraine began.
At a meeting with Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Macron complimented the country for refusing to side with Moscow on Ukraine and announced business deals, including a declaration of intent for a partnership in the much-sought area of rare earths and rare metals.
Continue reading...French couple take dealer to court for share of African mask’s €4.2m sale price
Pensioners sold rare object found in attic for €150 – but campaigners say it must be returned to Gabon
A retired French couple who sold an African mask to a secondhand goods dealer for €150 (£130) have gone to court for a share of the proceeds after the mask fetched €4.2m (£3.7m) at auction.
But campaigners insist that the rare artefact instead should be returned to Gabon, in a case that has raised questions over Africa’s cultural heritage looted by colonial France.
Continue reading...French police detain Russian tycoon over alleged financial and sanctions violations
Alfa Bank founder Alexey Kuzmichev was sanctioned by EU for ‘well-established ties’ to Vladimir Putin
Police in France have detained the Russian tycoon Alexey Kuzmichev and raided two of his properties in connection with alleged tax evasion, money laundering and sanctions violations.
The French financial prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday that searches had taken place a day earlier at Kuzmichev’s Paris home and an estate in in the Mediterranean Var region.
Continue reading...Eurozone economy shrinks by 0.1%, putting it at brink of recession
Ireland and Austria post biggest declines, while Germany contracts by 0.1% and France grows by 0.1%
The eurozone is teetering on the brink of a winter recession after the latest official figures showed its economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter of 2023.
In a worse than forecast performance, the 20-nation single currency zone has now failed to grow in three of the past four quarters, leaving its economy only 0.1% higher than it was a year earlier.
Continue reading...Weather tracker: UK and France brace for Storm Ciarán
Torrential rain and 100mph gusts forecast in some areas when low-pressure system makes landfall
Storm Ciarán is expected to arrive in the UK and Ireland, France, and the Iberian peninsula on Wednesday night into Thursday. Gusts of up to 100mph (160km/h) could be possible off the western coast of France before the severe winds filter through the Channel. Brittany and the western French coast could experience wind speeds of more than 80mph, and it is likely to remain windy through the weekend.
Torrential rain is also expected, with a chance of flooding in parts of western France and the north-western Iberian peninsula. Coastal inundation is also likely to be a risk along the northern Spanish and Portuguese coasts, as well as along the French coastline, with sea swell caused by strong winds and the low-pressure displacement of seawater. The rest of France could also experience heavy rain.
Continue reading...Antisemitism is deeply ingrained in European society, says EU official
Remarks by rights chief come as civil society groups warn of a rise in antisemitism amid Israel-Hamas war
Antisemitism is a “deeply ingrained racism in European society” that poses an existential threat to the continent’s Jewish community and the fundamental aims of the European Union, an EU official has warned.
Michael O’Flaherty, the director of the bloc’s agency for fundamental rights, said it was worrying that only a third of the general population considered antisemitism a big problem, when there was no doubt “dramatic moments in our societies trigger antisemitic responses”.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron condemns Viktor Orbán meeting with Vladimir Putin
French president says Hungarian leader’s meeting risks weakening European unity against Russia
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned the Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán’s recent meeting and handshake with Vladimir Putin.
“In the situation we are in with Russia, we should not use these bilateral contacts to negotiate things about ourselves that would weaken our unity [on Ukraine],” Macron said after a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.
Continue reading...French armed robber who escaped prison in helicopter jailed again
Rédoine Faïd gets extra 14 years as 11 members of family also convicted for aiding breakout
A French gangster who made a spectacular escape from prison by helicopter has been sentenced to an extra 14 years in jail.
It was the second time Rédoine Faïd, a career criminal described as France’s most wanted man during his three months on the run, had broken out of prison.
Continue reading...‘Pervasive and relentless’ racism on the rise in Europe, survey finds
Poll of 6,752 people of African descent in 13 countries finds almost half have experienced discrimination
Racism is “pervasive and relentless” and on the rise in Europe, with nearly half of black people in member states surveyed by the EU reporting discrimination, from the verbal abuse of their children to being blocked by landlords from renting homes.
In every walk of life, from schools to the job market, housing and health, a survey by the EU’s rights agency of people of African descent found high levels of discrimination, with some of the worst results recorded in Austria and Germany, where far-right parties have been on the rise.
Continue reading...Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson wax statue to be redone after star criticises its white skin
Musée Grévin says it is ‘improving’ wax figure of Fast and Furious star after it attracted widespread ridicule on social media
A wax museum in Paris that was criticised for “whitewashing” a statue of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says it will give the waxwork a do-over.
The Musée Grévin, which is modelled on London’s Madame Tussauds, unveiled the wax figure of the professional wrestler turned actor last week, but it swiftly attracted widespread ridicule on social media, as well as from the Fast and Furious star himself.
Continue reading...UK must offer businesses certainty over green energy, says boss of FTSE 100 firm
Miles Roberts of packaging-maker DS Smith warns manufacturing will decline unless government provides clarity about decarbonisation
The UK risks seeing its manufacturing sector fall behind rival economies if the government does not offer certainty over policies on shifting to green energy, according to the head of FTSE 100 packaging maker DS Smith.
Miles Roberts, the company’s chief executive, said British government decarbonisation policy has lacked the clarity of European rivals, meaning DS Smith has moved ahead with a €90m (£78m) investment in a paper mill in Rouen, northern France, while waiting for more clarity from government before investing in upgrades in the UK.
Continue reading...Private life of France’s Bonnie and Clyde revealed in love letters
Prison letters sent by ‘public enemy No 1’ Jacques Mesrine to his girlfriend Jeanne Schneider to be sold at auction
Bankrobber and serial prison escapee Jacques Mesrine had many names during his two-decade criminal career in the 1960s and 70s.
In disguise and on the run from police, he made headlines as “the man of a thousand faces” and “public enemy number one”. In Canada and the US with his girlfriend, Jeanne Schneider, the couple were nicknamed France’s Bonnie and Clyde.
Continue reading...‘A lot of pain’: Europe’s Jews fear rising antisemitism after Hamas attack
Protection of Jewish sites increased in towns and cities across continent after outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas
In the usually bustling “Little Jerusalem” area of Sarcelles, north of Paris, the popular falafel and grill restaurant was eerily quiet. “People are not going out,” said Jérémy, the 33-year-old restaurant owner. Lunchtime and evening crowds are common in one of the largest Jewish communities on the Paris outskirts. But many thought it wiser to stay at home, fearing a growing number of antisemitic incidents in France and across Europe since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing bombardment of Gaza.
In France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, police recorded more than 320 physical acts of antisemitism, and made more than 180 arrests, in the first 10 days of the war.
Continue reading...Niger’s military rulers say ousted president tried to escape custody
Escape attempt failed and ‘main actors’ have been arrested, says regime spokesperson on state TV
Niger’s military rulers say they have foiled an attempt by Mohamed Bazoum, the former president they ousted in a coup in July, to escape custody.
“At around three in the morning, the ousted president Mohamed Bazoum and his family, his two cooks and two security elements, tried to escape from his place of detention,” the regime’s spokesperson, Amadou Abdramane, said on state television.
Continue reading...Organisers cancel Europe Music Awards due to ‘volatility of world events’
Paramount postpones global music ceremony until 2024 citing Israel-Hamas war, saying now is a ‘moment of mourning’
The 2023 MTV Europe Music Awards have been cancelled in France, with the “volatility of world events” and the Israel-Hamas war given as reasons.
The annual ceremony, which celebrates music and artists from across the globe, was due to be held at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition centre, on 5 November, but will now be rescheduled for November 2024.
Continue reading...Attacks across Europe put Islamist extremism back in spotlight
Even before the war in Gaza, authorities have been warning of rise in Islamist terrorism on the continent
For months now, authorities charged with keeping Europe safe from Islamist extremist violence have been sounding the alarm. In May, Dutch security services warned that the terrorist threat from Islamic State to Europe had increased. The same month, the French interior minister said the risk of Islamist terrorism was rising again and that his own country was being targeted, as well as its neighbours.
In recent days, these pessimistic forecasts appear to have been vindicated. France is deploying 7,000 extra troops on to its streets after a teacher was fatally stabbed on Friday in an attack that Emmanuel Macron condemned as “barbaric Islamic terrorism”. The suspected attacker swore an oath of allegiance to IS in an audio recording on his phone shortly before the killing, prosecutors have said.
Continue reading...Macron calls for ‘ruthless’ approach to extremism in wake of Arras attack
Schools pay tribute to teacher killed last week as country placed on highest security alert
French secondary schools will hold a minute’s silence on Monday after a teacher was killed by a former pupil in what the government called an Islamist terror attack, prompting Emmanuel Macron to call for a “ruthless” approach towards extremists.
France has been placed on its highest level of security alert after a 20-year-old terrorist suspect who had been under surveillance walked into his old high school in Arras, northern France, on Friday and stabbed to death a French teacher, Dominique Bernard, and injured three others. The 57-year-old teacher died from several wounds to the neck.
Continue reading...Louvre in Paris evacuates staff and visitors after receiving written threat
Closure comes after decision to put France on high alert following fatal school stabbing by suspected extremist
Thousands of visitors have been evacuated from the Louvre in Paris after museum staff received a written threat.
The warning on Saturday came as France is on its highest alert for terrorist attacks after the killing of a teacher by a suspected radical Islamist in the north of the country on Friday.
Continue reading...France on high alert after suspected radical Islamist kills teacher
Prime minister Élisabeth Borne says country will be on ‘urgent’ terrorist alert until level of risk established
France has been put on its highest level of security alert after a suspected radical Islamist killed a teacher and injured three others in the north of the country.
The prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, said on Friday night that the country would be on “urgent” terrorist alert for a limited time while the level of risk was established.
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