Category Archives: France

France elections: Macron’s lead over Le Pen narrowing as vote nears

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Centrist incumbent and far-right rival go into last day of campaigning after a week of sparring in media

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen attacked each other in media interviews and walkabouts as final polls showed the gap between them narrowing on the last day of campaigning before Sunday’s first-round vote.

Macron said Le Pen was “lying” to voters about her “racist” manifesto programme, which includes banning the Muslim headscarf, and accused her of “complacency” in her ties with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

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The rise and rise of France’s far-right Marine Le Pen

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National Rally leader is closing gap on Emmanuel Macron in polls for this month’s presidential election

From her housing estate in northern Marseille, Elisabeth, 68, who once voted for the left, will return a ballot for the far-right Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election this month. “People used to think Marine was nasty,” she said. “Now they realise she’s not. Other politicians are taking her ideas. They all talk like her now.”

Elisabeth left school at 16 and worked at a shoemaker’s, in factories and as a housekeeper, but her €800 pension barely covers bills and food. “I live on credit, overdrawn by the middle of the month,” she said. “I make a weak stew and it lasts me three days. But Le Pen will cut taxes and put money in our pockets.” She agrees with Le Pen’s anti-immigration stance. She feels “Europeans” are becoming outnumbered in multi-ethnic northern Marseille and worries about crime. “I’ve been mugged twice, once for a necklace, once for a cigarette,” she said. Society is tense and divided, she feels, but Le Pen will “calm things down”.

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Killing of civilians in Bucha and Kyiv condemned as ‘terrible war crime’

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Europe pledges further sanctions against Russia after reports of killing of scores of unarmed Ukrainians

Russia stands accused of “terrible” war crimes, as western leaders condemned the killings of unarmed civilians in Bucha and the surrounding areas of Kyiv in alleged atrocities that prompted fresh demands for tougher action against Moscow.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the Kremlin-ordered attack on his country amounted to genocide, after local officials reported scores of civilians had been killed in the towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel near the capital following the withdrawal of Russian forces.

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Rescuers search for light aircraft with two onboard missing in Channel

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P-28 plane took off from airfield in Warwickshire and was bound for Le Touquet in northern France

Rescue teams have carried out a search in the Channel after a plane flying from the UK with two people onboard went missing.

The French coastguard told Sky News the aircraft is the “subject of a worrying disappearance” and a search for the plane was carried out “all afternoon”.

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French court plays tapes of Bataclan killings at survivor’s request

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Families, friends and survivors listen in silence to recordings from inside theatre where 90 people died

On the evening of 13 November 2015, about 1,500 concertgoers were watching the California rock band Eagles of Death Metal at the Bataclan theatre in central Paris. At the beginning it was “a great show”, fans reported afterwards. Youngsters were dancing in the pit in front of the stage and on the balcony; some were buying drinks at the bar.

On Friday, for the first time, a French court heard audio recordings and saw photographs of what happened next. There was silence as the court was played three sound recordings from the Bataclan attack, one of a series of bombings and shootings across Paris that killed 130 people and injured more than 300.

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French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier dies at 78

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Demarchelier photographed Princess Diana, Beyonce and Madonna during long career

Patrick Demarchelier, the fashion photographer who worked with high-profile figures including Diana, Princess of Wales, has died at the age of 78.

His death was announced by his representatives on Instagram on Thursday. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Patrick Demarchelier on 31 March 2022, at the age of 78,” the post read. “He is survived by his wife Mia, his three sons Gustaf, Arthur, Victor and three grandchildren.”

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Macron kickstarts re-election campaign as Le Pen gains ground

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Voters trust French president over his handling of war in Ukraine but accuse him of ducking political debate at home

The French president Emmanuel Macron is aiming to kickstart his re-election campaign this week with walkabouts outside Paris and a big rally in the capital, after the diplomatic pressures of the war in Ukraine limited his canvassing at home – leading to a dip in the polls and worries of a low turn-out.

Macron, 44, is hoping next month to be the first French president to win re-election in 20 years, but he has recently dropped two to three points in the polls as the gap between him and the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen narrows. While he remains favourite the next 10 days of campaigning are seen as fraught and risky amid anger over the cost of living, disillusionment with the level of campaign debate and politics in general.

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Canada police renew effort to arrest ‘devil priest’ for alleged abuse of Inuit children

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police say an arrest warrant was issued last month for Johannes Rivoire, who currently lives in France

Police in Canada have laid a new charge against a “devil priest” hiding in France amid allegations he sexually abused multiple Inuit children.

The case against Johannes Rivoire, who victims say has evaded justice for decades, received renewed focus this week when Canada’s Inuit leader requested the pope personally intervene during a visit to the Vatican by a delegation of Indigenous groups.

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British Base jumper dies after cliff jump in south of France

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Local reports say man’s parachute failed to open in time after jump from cliff during holiday with friends

A British Base jumper has died after his parachute failed to open in time during a cliff jump while on holiday with friends in the south of France.

The 34-year-old man succumbed to his injuries at Grenoble university hospital after Tuesday’s accident, according to the Dauphiné Libéré newspaper.

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‘People feel suffocated’: cost of living tops French concerns before election

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As prices rise, there are warnings president could face another protest movement like gilets jaunes

Outside Lidl, Isabelle Martin, a childminder from a village in Creuse, in central France, was loading discounted eggs, sugar and milk into her car. With prices rising, the 55-year-old couldn’t stretch to a full trolley and could rarely afford to drive to Guéret, her nearest town.

“I’m constantly thinking about my bank balance,” she said. At home she turned lights off and cut heating, and she never filled her car’s petrol tank completely “because the cost would be too much of a shock”.

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Emmanuel Macron vows to step up welfare reforms if re-elected

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French president aims to raise pension age and continue cutting taxes for businesses and households

Emmanuel Macron has vowed to intensify his overhaul of France’s welfare state, tax system and labour market if he wins a second term as president next month, arguing that transforming French society would protect people at a time of crisis when the war in Ukraine marks “a return of tragedy in history”.

The 44-year-old centrist leader has risen in the polls since Russia’s invasion and is a clear favourite to win April’s election – which would make him the first French president to win re-election in 20 years. But he has been under pressure from opponents to explain his economic and social policy.

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Six countries including UK and US accuse Russia of war crimes in Ukraine

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British foreign secretary says there is ‘very strong evidence’, and France says Putin is only pretending to negotiate

Russia has been accused by the UK, the US, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway of war crimes in Ukraine, as Paris claimed Vladimir Putin was only pretending to be interested in negotiating a peace deal.

The six countries challenged Russia before a UN security council meeting as the British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said there was now “very, very strong evidence” of war crimes being committed by Russian forces.

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More than 900 people intercepted crossing Channel in busiest day of 2022

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UK and French authorities intercepted 23 small boats on Tuesday carrying total 943 people including children and a baby

More than 900 people were intercepted in small boats crossing the Channel on Tuesday in what is thought to be the largest number of migrants attempting to reach the UK in a single day so far this year.

The UK authorities intercepted 405 people in 12 boats, while the French stopped another 538 people in 11 boats. Among those to arrive were several children, including a baby, who were brought to shore by an RNLI lifeboat at Dungeness in Kent.

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France may offer Corsica ‘autonomy’ as it struggles to quell protests

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Interior minister says government, faced with major crisis before April presidential election, open to talks

Paris could offer “autonomy” to Corsica, the French government has said, suggesting the state might be willing to loosen its historic, centralised grip on the Mediterranean island as it struggles to calm violent protests.

“We are ready to go as far as autonomy – there you go, the word has been said,” the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, told the regional newspaper Corse Matin before a two-day visit, that comes after two weeks of rioting in which a hundred people were injured and public buildings and police were attacked with homemade explosive devices.

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Church of England to reconsider shares in TotalEnergies over Ukraine inaction

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Pension board and investment fund managers urge French energy company to cut ties with Russia

The Church of England is pressuring the French energy giant TotalEnergies over its decision not to cut ties with Russia after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Church’s pensions board and the manager of its investment fund said they would reconsider their shareholding in the company.

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EU leaders announce intention to collectively rearm in face of Putin threat

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Versailles declaration says Russia’s war in Ukraine has heralded ‘tectonic shift in European history’

EU leaders have announced their intention to collectively rearm and become autonomous in food, energy and military hardware in a Versailles declaration that described Russia’s war as “a tectonic shift in European history”.

At a summit in the former royal palace, the 27 heads of state and government said on Friday that the invasion of Ukraine had shown the urgent need for the EU to take responsibility for its own security and to rid itself of dependencies on others.

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‘We must welcome them’: how Europe is helping Ukrainian refugees

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Unlike the UK, EU countries have offered open sanctuary to the millions fleeing Russia’s attack in biggest refugee crisis since second world war

Over the past few days, images of desperate Ukrainian families being turned away by officials have thrown the UK’s response to what has been termed the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war into stark contrast with its European neighbours.

So far the UK has refused to match the EU’s decision to offer Ukrainians open sanctuary, instead operating a limited family reunification and humanitarian sponsorship system.

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Experts raise doubts over plan for Royal Navy to control Channel crossings

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Exclusive: Critical defence select committee report to come amid growing Tory unease over No 10’s plan

The credibility of the government’s plan to put the Royal Navy in charge of coordinating efforts to control small boats in the Channel is expected to be questioned by an influential parliamentary committee.

A report by the defence select committee, to be delivered shortly, will raise doubts over whether plans to put the Royal Navy in charge have been rigorously tested.

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Poutine not Putin: classic Quebec dish off the menu in France and Canada

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French restaurant threatened for selling fries, cheese and gravy snack that sounds like the Russian leader

Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has prompted demonstrations around the world, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to condemn the war.

But anger towards the Russian leader has also ensnared an unlikely casualty: a French-Canadian delicacy of potato fries, cheese curds and gravy.

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Iran nuclear talks rocked by Russian demand for sanctions exemption

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Moscow seeks guarantees regarding trade with Iran that would undermine west’s response to Ukraine invasion

Russia has been accused of trying to take the Iran nuclear deal hostage as part of its wider battle with the west over Ukraine, after it threw a last-minute spanner into plans for an agreement to lift a swathe of US economic sanctions on Tehran.

After months of negotiations in Vienna, a revised deal was expected to be reached within days under which US sanctions would be lifted in return for Tehran returning to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear nonproliferation deal.

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