Category Archives: France

Why Europe’s Muslims are braced for France’s stint running the EU presidency | Shada Islam

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There is concern that the country’s divisive anti-Muslim political discourse will seep into the union’s institutional policymaking

  • Shada Islam is a Brussels-based commentator on EU affairs

France has taken over the rotating EU presidency for the next six months, an opportunity the president, Emmanuel Macron, will no doubt use to nudge Europe towards his goal of greater “strategic autonomy” in the world. Some in Brussels worry that hotly contested presidential elections in April could interfere with France’s EU presidency before a key conference on the future of Europe delivers any results. It’s not reassuring that Macron’s decision, temporarily, to fly the blue and gold EU flag at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris has already drawn the fury of far-right and conservative election candidates.

But many European Muslims are concerned about the French stint in the EU chair for another reason: they fear that France’s divisive anti-Muslim political discourse will seep dangerously into EU policymaking.

Shada Islam is a Brussels-based commentator on EU affairs

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Masks for school students mandatory in several EU countries

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Analysis: Amid a backlash in England over the rule change, we look at the rules in place in other countries

The return of a requirement in England for secondary pupils to wear face masks in class has sparked a backlash at the start of the new term, but several EU countries have already adopted the measure even for primary school children.

Some Conservative MPs and parents’ groups have objected to the move, warning of a long-term impact of masks on children’s mental health and arguing that they they will have a longer-term effect on people’s ability to learn and socialise.

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New Year’s Day killings spark call for action to tackle violence against women in France

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Government accused of remaining ‘scandalously’ silent on grim start to the year for women and girls

Feminist campaigners in France are calling for tougher government action to combat violence against women and girls after three women were allegedly killed by their current or former partner on the first day of 2022.

The body of a 28-year-old military recruit who had been stabbed to death was found near Saumur in western France on Saturday. The local prosecutor, Alexandra Verron, said a 21-year-old man, also a soldier, had been arrested and investigators were looking into a possible femicide – the killing of a woman by her partner or ex-partner.

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Retrieved after decades: the painting supposedly ‘bought’ by the Nazis

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A new book recounts one woman’s struggle to find looted art – and then convince a major museum to give it back

Fresh proof that the Nazis set up fake auctions and phoney paperwork to disguise their looting of art and valuable possessions has been uncovered by an amateur sleuth researching her own family mystery.

French writer Pauline Baer de Perignon’s investigation has revealed the fate of a missing collection of art that included work by Monet, Renoir and Degas and also exposed the reluctance of Europe’s leading museums to accept evidence of the deceit.

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The art of Yves Saint Laurent: design house marks 60th anniversary

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Five Paris museums to display fashion designer’s creations with artwork that inspired them

Simultaneous exhibitions to mark the 60th anniversary of Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection are to be held by six leading Paris museums in an unprecedented tribute from the art world to the late French fashion designer.

The events at museums, among them the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, will reveal how the celebrated couturier was inspired by some of the 20th century’s greatest artists including Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian.

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24C in Spain, 15C in the Alps: oddly warm end to 2021 in parts of Europe

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Records broken in Bilbao and Segovia, and avalanche warnings in Alps where it is too warm even for fake snow

Spain registered record-breaking temperatures this week and areas of the Italian Alps are forecast to reach up to 15C above the seasonal average in the coming days as much of Europe experiences an anomalously warm start to the new year.

In Bilbao, northern Spain, temperatures hit 24.7C, a high not seen since record-keeping began in 1947. In Segovia, near Madrid, 22.7C was recorded, the highest since 1920, and nearby Avila reached 20.2C, its highest since 1983.

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That’s a wrap: French plastic packaging ban for fruit and veg begins

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Law bans sale of carrots, bananas and other items in plastic as environment groups urge other countries to follow

A law banning plastic packaging for large numbers of fruits and vegetables comes into force in France on New Year’s Day, to end what the government has called the “aberration” of overwrapped carrots, apples and bananas, as environmental campaigners and exasperated shoppers urge other countries to do the same.

Emmanuel Macron has called the ban on plastic packaging of fresh produce “a real revolution” and said France was taking the lead globally with its law to gradually phase out all single-use plastics by 2040.

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German optimism over Omicron as Europe dampens new year revelry

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Covid expert hopeful for ‘relatively normal’ winter 2022 but prevalence limits celebrations across continent

Germany’s leading coronavirus expert has expressed optimism that his country could expect a “relatively normal” winter in 2022 as Europe prepared to ring in the new year in muted fashion, with many countries limiting celebrations.

As the highly transmissible Omicron variant fuels a record-breaking surge in Covid infections across the continent, many governments have curtailed mass public gatherings and either closed or imposed curfews on nightclubs.

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France suspends rule denying British residents of other EU countries transit

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Government says border officials will show tolerance toward those who had gone back to UK for Christmas

The French government has suspended a new rule that prevented British nationals legally resident in other EU countries from travelling through France to reach their homes, a move that caused confusion for thousands of travellers.

Border officials would “show tolerance” in order to “allow these nationals to transit through France to reach their residence in a country of the European Union after the Christmas and New Year period”, the interior ministry said in a statement. It came as Germany also relaxed rules for British visitors.

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Britons with homes in EU told they can’t drive through France to get there

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Eurotunnel operator issues warning to UK nationals after update to Covid travel rules by French government

Eurotunnel is warning British citizens who live in the EU that they cannot travel through France by car from the UK due to new coronavirus restrictions imposed by the French government.

Getlink, the operator of the Channel rail link, issued an urgent warning on its website and Twitter page on Wednesday evening that appeared to confirm that the French government had changed its travel rules.

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Covid live: UK cases hit new daily record of 183,037; Spain cuts isolation period to seven days

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Case figures include delayed data from Northern Ireland; Spain cuts quarantine despite record rise in cases

India has recorded another 9,195 confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, according to recently released data from its health ministry.

A further 302 deaths were also recorded, bring the total death toll to 480,592.

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French daily Covid cases above 200,000 as Italy introduces stricter green pass

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France sets European record, as Italy tightens measures against the unvaccinated

France has registered a national and European record for new coronavirus infections as the Omicron variant fuels a surge in cases across the continent, with multiple countries hitting new highs.

France on Wednesday reported 208,000 cases in the previous 24 hours, up from its previous record of almost 180,000 set the day before.

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‘Good anti-sinking capacity, lifejacket optional’: journey of a ‘refugee boat’

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From a factory in China to an English beach, rubber dinghies are acquired by people-smugglers to transport desperate people


Against the backdrop of Dunkirk’s busy port with its cranes and smoke, a collapsed, grey rubber dinghy lies on the shore, abandoned and washed in by the tide.

It is one of the many haunting signs of the thousands of desperate people who have attempted to cross the Channel from northern France.

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Covid live: US, UK, France, Portugal and Greece all break new daily cases records

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US reports 512,553 cases; UK reports 129,000; France reports 179,807; Portugal 17,172; and Greece 21,657

Stock markets have continued to gain ground despite the surge of Omicron around the world.

Asian markets lifted on Tuesday with the Nikkei in Japan up nearly 1%, Shanghai up 0.2%, Seoul up 0.1% and Sydney’s ASX200 is up 0.44%.

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Border Force picks up 67 people after Christmas Day attempt to cross Channel

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Agents step in after incident involving two small boats in early hours of morning

UK authorities have rescued 67 people who were attempting to cross the Channel on Christmas Day.

Border Force agents took a group of people to Dover in Kent in the early hours of Saturday, after an incident involving two small boats.

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French coast: the early explorers who sparked British fears of a Francophone Australia

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Nicolas Baudin’s voyage at the height of the Napoleonic wars gave us dozens of French place names, and left with kangaroos for the Empress Josephine

From La Perouse in Sydney to Victoria’s French Island and South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, hints of early French exploration dot the country’s coastline.

In fact, French familiarity with our region was such that they were the first to print a near-complete chart of Australia’s coast in 1811, beating the British by three years. But for a few other historical quirks, at least part of the nation might now be Francophone.

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French zoo closes after pack of nine wolves escapes

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Four wolves were shot dead by park workers and five anaesthetised by officials at scene

Authorities in the south of France have temporarily shut down a zoo after a pack of nine wolves escaped from an enclosure during visiting hours, officials have said.

No humans were injured in the incident last weekend at the Trois Vallées zoo in Montredon-Labessonnié in the south-west Tarn region but four of the wolves were shot dead by park workers and five were anaesthetised by local officials on the scene, Fabien Chollet, a local official, told AFP on Friday.

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‘The fight goes on’: the struggle to save Europe’s songbirds

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Campaigners help close the loophole allowing glue-trapping in France, but the battle to save endangered bird species goes on

“Chasse à la glu has ended, but the fight to save other birds is not over,” says campaigner Yves Verilhac. “We are now battling to stop other cruel hunting methods that lead to the killing of skylarks, lapwings, golden plovers, thrushes and blackbirds.”

Two years ago, Verilhac, of France’s Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO), was fighting to stop the French tradition of chasse à la glu – hunting songbirds with twigs and branches covered in adhesive.

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Settled French territory or powder keg: what next for New Caledonia after failed bid for independence? | Hamish McDonald

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While French politicians are hailing the result of the referendum as ‘final’, indigenous Kanaks say their future is anything but settled

In the wake of the third New Caledonian referendum on independence from France, French president Emmanuel Macron declared that “France is more beautiful because New Caledonia decided to stay.”

The vote in the 12 December referendum – supposedly the finale of a 30-year process of preparation and consultation – was an overwhelming 96.5% against independence.

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Netherlands to enter lockdown as nations across Europe tighten curbs to slow Omicron spread

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Dutch lockdown puts limits on Christmas celebrations, while France and other countries toughen restrictions as Covid cases climb

Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of Covid infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.

All non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until 14 January starting Sunday, caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte said at a hastily arranged press conference Saturday night. Schools and universities will shut until 9 January, he said.

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