Category Archives: France

European countries dominate half of Asian shark fin trade, report reveals

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Despite nearly a third of shark species nearing extinction, Spain supplied 51,000 tonnes of shark fins from 2003-20, says IFAW

European countries are selling so many shark fins to Asia that they dominate nearly half the trade, a study has found.

Shark populations continue to decline, driven by the global shark fin trade. Last year, scientists found a third of sharks and ray species have been overfished to near-extinction, jeopardising the health of entire ocean ecosystems and food security for many countries.

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Macron to launch re-election race, as rivals face pro-Russia allegations

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The war in Ukraine is the biggest international crisis to overshadow a presidential race in decades

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is expected to launch his campaign for re-election this week in a race shaken by the war in Ukraine, with key candidates under attack over previous pro-Russia stances.

Macron has left the official declaration of his candidacy to the last minute because of the war, but he must make a move before the 4 March deadline to register.

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‘Her blood … his hands’: what the papers say about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

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Photograph of teacher bloodied by Russian attack on Ukraine dominates front pages as Putin sends his troops to war

The front pages in Britain and around the world are devoted to the shocking events in Ukraine, with graphic images of the destruction unleashed by Vladimir Putin.

A photograph of a woman with a bloodied and bandaged head in the wake of a Russian attack dominates the front of the Guardian with the headline “Putin invades”.

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French rightwing candidate mocked after dog joins her party

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Valérie Pécresse hounded over allegations that dog named Douglas signed up for Les Républicains presidential primary

French politicians have long embraced domestic animals – from Emmanuel Macron’s rescue dog, Nemo, who once peed on a fireplace during an Elysée meeting, to the far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s hobby of breeding Bengal cats.

But a dog called Douglas from the south of France is causing ridicule for the rightwing presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse.

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France extends abortion limit after year of parliamentary rows

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Applause in national assembly as lawmakers vote to extend limit for ending pregnancy from 12 to 14 weeks

France has extended its time limit for abortion after an epic battle in parliament, amid anger that thousands of women had to travel abroad each year to terminate pregnancies in countries such as the Netherlands, Spain or England because of French restrictions.

There was applause in the French national assembly on Wednesday when lawmakers voted definitively to extend the legal limit for ending a pregnancy from 12 to 14 weeks. France’s new time frame is still lower than in some other European countries, including England at 24 weeks.

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Marine Le Pen calls off events and appeals for mayors’ endorsements

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Far-right candidate yet to secure the 500 signatures needed to qualify for first round of vote

The French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has postponed several campaign events because she is yet to secure the 500 endorsements from elected officials needed to qualify for the first round of the vote.

Le Pen, the leader of the nationalist-populist National Rally, is lying second in the polls and is widely considered to be Emmanuel Macron’s most likely opponent in a second-round runoff on 24 April.

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Accidental killing of hiker fuels bitter debate over hunting in France

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Woman hit by stray bullet during wild boar hunt sparks row over stricter regulations before presidential election

The accidental killing of a hiker by a teenager who was hunting wild boar has rekindled a bitter debate over stricter regulations of France’s hunting tradition before the presidential election in April.

The 25-year-old woman was walking with a friend along a marked trail near Aurillac in the heavily forested Cantal region when she was hit by a stray bullet on Saturday. She died instantly.

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Macron paves way for potential Putin-Biden summit on Ukraine crisis

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Flurry of phone calls by French president leads to ‘in principle agreement’, as US warns war is imminent

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has invited Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden to attend a summit aimed at de-escalating the Ukraine crisis, and the leaders have agreed in principle, Macron’s office has announced, amid further US warnings that war is imminent.

The Élysée Palace put out a statement on Sunday evening following last-minute diplomatic efforts by the French president to try to dissuade Russia from invading Ukraine.

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Jean-Luc Brunel, held on suspicion of supplying girls to Epstein, found hanged

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Former model agency boss accused of rape and suspected of trafficking minors has died in prison

The former boss of a French model agency accused of rape and under investigation on suspicion of supplying underage girls to the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead in prison.

The body of Jean-Luc Brunel, 75, was reportedly found hanging in his cell in the early hours of Saturday. The French prosecutors’ office confirmed the report and said an inquiry had been opened into the exact cause of death, but early indications pointed to suicide.

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Brad Pitt sues ex-wife Angelina Jolie for selling stake in French winery

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Pitt says Jolie broke their agreement not to sell their interests in Château Miraval without the other’s consent

Brad Pitt has sued his ex-wife Angelina Jolie for selling her stake in a French winery they had bought together – and where they got married – to a Russian businessman.

In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Thursday, Pitt said Jolie had broken their agreement not to sell their interests in Château Miraval without the other’s consent by selling her stake to a unit of Stoli Group, a spirits maker controlled by oligarch Yuri Shefler.

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‘Insightful and courageous’: Gabon activist Hervé Mombo Kinga dies of Covid

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Celebrated blogger had suffered ill health after spending 17 months in prison for speaking out against president Ali Bongo

Hervé Mombo Kinga, the pro-democracy activist and celebrated blogger who spent 17 months in jail for insulting the Gabonese president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, was not impressed when he saw the pictures of the leader limping up the stairs of France’s presidential palace.

Kinga, who died last week at 47 after contracting Covid, was infuriated by the episode – widely shared in the west African country of Gabon, despite the embarrassment it caused the president, whose family has held power for more than five decades.

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France announces military withdrawal from Mali after nine years

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Fears of jihadist push in Gulf of Guinea after Macron and allies pull out

France and its European partners are to begin a military withdrawal from Mali after more than nine years fighting a jihadist insurgency, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, confirmed on Thursday.

Asked at the Élysée if the withdrawal marked a failure for France and its policy of fighting terrorism in west Africa, Macron said: “I completely reject that term.”

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French reporter infiltrates campaign of far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour

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Exclusive: Vincent Bresson says he witnessed casual racism and covert posts by ‘shadow Facebook army’

A reporter who infiltrated Éric Zemmour’s presidential election team has claimed he witnessed a culture of casual racism and a covert online campaign involving a “shadow Facebook army” and repeated rewrites of the far-right polemicist’s Wikipedia page, the most viewed in France.

Vincent Bresson, 27, says he spent more than three months as an increasingly trusted member of “Génération Z”, as Zemmour’s young supporters’ group is known. He said he witnessed multiple racist remarks from both volunteers and senior staff.

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UK has been slower than some countries in giving Covid jabs to younger children

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Progress has been slower than in adults, with authorities blaming hesitancy among parents and some doctors as well as mixed messaging from experts

All nations of the UK will offer Covid-19 vaccines to all 5-11 year olds, with England, Northern Ireland and Scotland all joining Wales in offering the jabs to younger children on Wednesday.

Britain has been slower than some other countries in offering the shots to this age group. Many EU member states began offering vaccination to all children aged five to 11 in December, but progress has been patchy, with authorities blaming hesitancy among parents and some doctors as well as mixed messaging from experts.

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Coronavirus restrictions ease across Europe despite high case rates

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France, Netherlands and Germany all announce plans to reduce or remove Covid controls

France’s nightclubs reopen for the first time in three months on Wednesday and the Netherlands returns to “almost normal” from next Friday, as European countries continue to lift their coronavirus curbs despite relatively high infection numbers.

Groups may also play to standing audiences in French concert venues, customers in bars and cafes will be allowed to eat and drink while standing at the counter and cinemagoers and train passengers can snack during their film or journey.

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France condemns Paris police officer for allegedly insulting sexual assault victim

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Woman’s answerphone recorded officer for three minutes questioning her case

The French government has condemned the actions of a Paris police officer who was suspended after he was allegedly recorded saying a Parisian teacher who made a sexual assault complaint was a “whore”.

Lawyers and rights groups reacted with outrage after a recording was released on the investigative website Mediapart of the police officer repeatedly insulting the woman and questioning her case.

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‘Noise radar’ in Paris will catch raucous cars and motorbikes

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System promises to issue tickets automatically in attempt to address sound pollution in the city

Paris has switched on its first noise radar as part of a plan to fine loud motorcycles and other vehicles in one of Europe’s noisiest cities.

The machine placed high on a street lamp-post in the 20th district in eastern Paris is able to measure the noise level of moving vehicles and to identify their licence plate.

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Belgian police prevent French ‘freedom convoy’ from entering Brussels

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Barriers and checkpoints set up around European quarter, and drivers directed to park and rest area

Belgian police have stopped drivers taking part in France’s so-called freedom convoy from entering Brussels, where they planned to hold a demonstration on Monday.

Hundreds of protesters had headed north from Paris region on Sunday but Brussels authorities said the convoy would not be allowed to enter the city.

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At least seven killed after explosion and fire in southern France

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Interior minister heads to scene of tragedy near Perpignan as search of gutted buildings continues

At least seven people, including two children, have died after an explosion sent fire raging through a building in southern France.

One of the victims of the blaze that started in a three-story building in the coastal town of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, north-east of Perpignan, was reported to be a baby.

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Valérie Pécresse rally focuses on immigration as threat from rivals grows

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Les Républicains’ presidential choice promises crackdown after defections to Macron and rise in far-right’s polling

The rightwing French presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse vowed to crack down on immigration as she held her first big rally on Sunday amid competition from the growing far right and defections from her party to the centrist leader Emmanuel Macron.

“There is no sovereignty without borders,” Pécresse said on stage in Paris as more than 6,000 people waved French flags in support of the first female presidential candidate for Les Républicains, the traditional rightwing party of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.

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