Category Archives: France

French dijon mustard supply hit by climate and rising costs, say producers

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Poor seed harvests have led to empty shelves at supermarkets in France and global shortages

Climate change and rising costs are causing supermarkets in France to run out of dijon mustard, raising questions over whether the shortage could spread to other countries.

French mustard producers said seed production in 2021 was down 50% after poor harvests, which they said had been brought on by the changing climate in France’s Burgundy region and Canada – the second largest mustard seed producer in the world.

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Eagles of Death Metal tell Paris terror trial how band ‘ran for their lives’

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Frontman and guitarist watched Bataclan fans’ excitement turn to confusion as gunmen opened fire

The frontman and the guitarist for the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal have told a Paris court how they watched from the stage in confusion and horror as terrorists opened fire on the crowd at their sold-out concert at the Bataclan in 2015.

Jesse Hughes, the band’s singer, and Eden Galindo, a guitarist, both said the attack, which left 90 people dead, had changed their lives for ever.

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Élisabeth Borne becomes France’s first female prime minister in 30 years

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Labour minister Borne, 61, is only second woman in modern French history to be PM, after Édith Cresson

Élisabeth Borne, the French minister for labour, has been appointed prime minister – the first woman to hold the post in more than 30 years and only the second female prime minister in modern French history.

Borne, 61, an engineer with a long career in government ministries, the senior civil service, public administration and state businesses – was chosen by Emmanuel Macron for the difficult task of delivering his complex policy promises at the start of his second term, against a background of rising inflation and the war in Ukraine.

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French mayor reignites burkini row with pool rule proposal

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Grenoble mayor wants swimmers to dress ‘how they like’, including topless or in full-body suits

The burkini, or full-body swimsuit, is once again at the centre of a political row in France as Grenoble’s town council prepares to debate loosening rules on swimwear at open-air pools.

Rules on swimwear are strict at most French public pools, with men, for example, having to wear tight-fitting racing trunks and not longer board-shorts. Currently, in Grenoble municipal pools, UV-protective tops are banned, except short-sleeved tops for children under 10, or for adults who present a medical note from their doctor.

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Iran arrests French couple and threatens to execute Swedish-Iranian

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Cécile Kohler and her husband held after holiday, while threat to kill scientist seen as reprisal for Swedish war crimes trial

Iranian authorities have arrested a French teaching union official and her husband and threatened to execute a Swedish-Iranian man who has been held in jail for six years by 21 May, in fresh moves against foreign and dual nationals.

The threat to execute Ahmadreza Djalali, a scientist, is widely seen as a reprisal for Sweden starting the trial in Stockholm of Hamid Nouri, who is accused of war crimes and murder committed during and after the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

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Two Britons testify against Interpol chief in UAE torture claim

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Matthew Hedges and Ali Issa Ahmad allege Ahmed Naser al-Raisi was responsible for abuse in detention

Two British men who spent time in detention in the United Arab Emirates have testified in Paris that an Emirati security official who is now the president of Interpol was responsible for their alleged torture.

Matthew Hedges, an academic imprisoned in the UAE for seven months on espionage charges he denies, and Ali Issa Ahmad, who was detained in Dubai for wearing a Qatar football shirt, testified before the investigating judge of the specialised judicial unit for crimes against humanity and war crimes of the Paris tribunal.

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French TV news presenter faces multiple allegations of sexual offences

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Twenty women have accused Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, also known as PPDA, of sexual harassment and abuse

Twenty women have come forward to openly accuse one of France’s best-known television news presenters of sexual harassment and abuse – including rape – following an investigation by French journalists.

Patrick Poivre d’Arvor – known as PPDA – has faced a number of accusations that emerged after a writer first went to police to accuse him of rape, in February last year. The investigation was later dropped.

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Former Guantánamo prisoner on trial in France for extremism

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Saber Lahmar has been charged with encouraging jihadists to fight for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria

An Algerian preacher who spent eight years in the US-run Guantánamo Bay prison has gone on trial in France for allegedly encouraging several young men to join the Islamic State group.

Saber Lahmar, a 52-year-old Algerian released by the US in 2008 and taken in afterwards by France, has been charged with encouraging jihadists to head to Iraq and Syria to fight for the extremist group in 2015.

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Macron hails ‘democratic renaissance’ as he is sworn in for second term

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French president promises inclusive education system, accessible health service and stronger military at Elysée Palace ceremony

Emmanuel Macron said that his reelection marked a “fundamental democratic renaissance” as he was sworn in for a second term of office as president of France at a ceremony at the Elysée Palace.

Macron, who defeated his far right rival, Marine Le Pen, in the second round vote two weeks ago, entered on Saturday to the strains of Handel played by the Garde Républicaine’s string quartet and listened as the official results were read.

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Wagner-linked Putin ally: ‘Dying west thinks Russians are third world scum’

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Yevgeny Prigozhin accused of financing Wagner mercenary group responds to accusations of massacres in Mali

A Russian businessman and close ally of Vladimir Putin accused by the US, EU and others of financing the private military company Wagner group has said that “a dying-out western civilisation” will be defeated by Russia.

The Guardian had approached Yevgeny Prigozhin seeking his reaction to evidence implicating Wagner fighters in massacres in Mali. In response he said he had “repeatedly said that the Wagner group does not exist” and that he had “nothing to do with it”.

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May Day marches across France send pensions message to Macron

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Unions warn that plans to raise retirement age could lead to protests and strikes amid cost of living crisis

Tens of thousands of people have taken part in French street demonstrations as Labour Day marches sent a “message” to Emmanuel Macron that he must consult citizens more during his second term, and reverse plans to raise the retirement age or face protests.

“There will be a fight over pensions, that’s clear – battle has been declared,” said the leftwing CGT trade union in Toulouse. Trade unionists, environmentalists and parties on the left – as well as yellow-vest anti-government protesters – marched in cities across France, demanding a rise in pensions and salaries and an end to Macron’s plan to gradually raise the pension age to 65.

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Macron dodges tomatoes in post-election walkabout

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Triumphant French president promises to listen as he chooses working-class Cergy for first public appearance since vote

Emmanuel Macron narrowly missed being hit by a bag of tomatoes during a surprise visit to a working-class area north of Paris, as he promised a new style of “listening to people” after his re-election as president.

In his first public appearance since Sunday’s vote, Macron strolled around a food market in the town of Cergy, north-west of Paris, shaking hands and posing for selfies. Most people were friendly, some shouted congratulations and others asked for help in finding a job, dealing with health problems or making ends meet.

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French election 2022: live second round results

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Emmanuel Macron has beaten Marine Le Pen in the presidential runoff and will serve another term as president of France. Reliable projections put Macron on course for 58% to Le Pen’s 41%. Find out how the race is unfolding live department by department.

Live coverage and reaction

The election on Sunday 24 April is a runoff to decide between the first two candidates from the first round of voting on 10 April. Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen topped that earlier poll.

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French election live: Macron vows to unite divided France after victory over Le Pen – as it happened

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President’s victory against Le Pen was significantly narrower than five years ago, scoring an estimated 58.8% of the vote

Both candidates are now back in Paris from their northern constituencies, French media report.

Macron is ensconced in the Élysée Palace on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and will later join his campaign team near the Eiffel Tower. Le Pen is at her campaign headquarters in the west of Paris.

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What’s in Emmanuel Macron’s intray after his re-election as French president?

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Macron faces a second term at least as challenging as his first, if not more so

Assured of another five years in the Élysée after beating his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, on Sunday, Emmanuel Macron faces a second term at least as challenging as his first, if not more so. Here we look at some of the key challenges and priorities of the re-elected president:

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France election: polls open as Macron and Le Pen battle for presidency

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Emmanuel Macron goes into the election with a reasonable lead in polls over Marine Le Pen, after a fractious campaign

The polls have opened in mainland France for the second round of the presidential election in which voters will choose to give Emmanuel Macron another five years in office or elect Marine Le Pen.

Macron is favourite to win but any second term will be determined by whether he finishes with a convincing victory. Both he and Le Pen need to have convinced the almost 50% of voters who did not choose either of them in the first round ballot two weeks ago.

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Forget the presidency, I can lead France as its PM, insists Mélenchon

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Veteran leftist is courting allies to help make him prime minister in June, handing him power to disrupt the winner of Sunday’s vote

Whoever wins the presidential election in France, one man is determined to sideline them and restrict their powers.

Even before the result is known tomorrow, the radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who has emerged as a surprise kingmaker, has called on voters to make him prime minister in the legislative elections in June.

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France says Russian mercenaries staged ‘French atrocity’ in Mali

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Army says it filmed mercenaries burying bodies to falsely accuse France of leaving behind mass graves

Russian mercenaries buried bodies near a Malian military base to falsely accuse France’s departing forces of leaving behind mass graves, the French military has claimed.

The French army said it used a drone to film what appeared to be white soldiers covering bodies with sand near the Gossi base in northern Mali.

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Election debate marks normalisation of far-right politics in France

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Analysis: 20 years on from Jean-Marie Le Pen’s advance to second round, his daughter’s ‘detoxification’ bears fruit

Throughout his forensic, if at times patronising, dismantling of Marine Le Pen’s arguments during their nearly three-hour live TV debate on Wednesday night, there was one term that Emmanuel Macron never employed: “far right”.

In the opinion of most French commentators – and voters, 59% of whom found the incumbent a convincing presidential candidate, against 39% who said the same for the Rassemblement National (National Rally) leader – Macron won the clash.

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Macron allies warn victory not certain as poll lead over Le Pen grows

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Centrist’s backers say voters still need convincing his policies are best for them ahead of presidential runoff

Senior political allies of Emmanuel Macron have lined up to warn against complacency in France’s presidential race, saying the incumbent is not certain to win despite polls indicating his lead over his far-right challenger, Marine Le Pen, is widening.

“The game isn’t done and dusted and we certainly cannot draw the conclusion … that this election is already decided,” the French prime minister, Jean Castex, told French radio, five days before Sunday’s second round runoff.

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