Jean-Pierre Thebault, the French ambassador to Australia, said France was kept in the dark over the surprise cancellation of a submarine contract in favour of a US deal. France recalled its ambassadors to Australia and the US on Friday in an unprecedented show of anger over a deal between the US, Australia and the UK to provide Australia with a fleet of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines
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France recalls ambassadors to US and Australia after Aukus pact
First time France has recalled a US ambassador in alliance dating back to American revolution
France has recalled its ambassadors to the US and Australia for consultations sparked by the “exceptional seriousness” of Canberra’s surprise decision to cancel an order for French-built submarines and its security pact with Washington and London.
The French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said the order to bring the ambassadors back to Paris “immediately” was made at the request of the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Continue reading...Aukus deal showing France and EU that Biden not all he seems
Analysis: the western alliance is the main victim – and China will win out unless US can soothe Paris’s anger
Fury in Paris at Australia’s decision to tear up plans to buy a French-built fleet of submarines is not only a row about a defence contract, cost overruns and technical specifications. It throws into question the transatlantic alliance to confront China.
The Aukus deal has left the French political class seething at Joe Biden’s Trumpian unilateralism, Australian two-facedness and the usual British perfidy. “Nothing was done by sneaking behind anyone’s back,” assured the British defence minister, Ben Wallace, in an attempt to soothe the row. But that is not the view in Paris. “This is an enormous disappointment,” said Florence Parly, the French defence minister.
Continue reading...Which countries are enforcing mandatory Covid jabs – and how?
Joe Biden has introduced a vaccine mandate affecting millions, but some countries have gone further
Following the decision by the US president, Joe Biden, to introduce a vaccine mandate for millions of workers, and the UK government’s decision to row back on its push to require vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded events, where does the issue of insisting on vaccination stand globally?
Continue reading...‘Stab in the back’: France accuses US of sinking Australia submarine deal – video
France has expressed fury over Australia’s surprise decision to scrap a huge submarine deal in favour of nuclear-powered subs from the US, describing it as a 'stab in the back' from Canberra and a strain on its friendly relationship with Washington. 'We had established a relationship of trust with Australia, this trust has been betrayed,' said the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian
Continue reading...France says it has killed Islamic State leader in Greater Sahara
Emmanuel Macron claims ‘another major success’ after death of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi
Emmanuel Macron has said French military forces have killed the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, claiming “another major success” in the fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel.
The French president, who recently moved to reduce French troop deployment in the troubled sub-Saharan region amid broad consensus that the intervention was not achieving its aim, gave no further details in his statement on Wednesday night, though he mentioned French casualties.
Continue reading...Fire shuts one of UK’s most important power cables in midst of supply crunch
Coal plants being warmed up as market prices surge to £2,500 per MWh from a norm of £40
A major fire has forced the shutdown of one of Britain’s most important power cables importing electricity from France as the UK faces a supply crunch and record high market prices.
National Grid was forced to evacuate staff from the site of the IFA high-voltage power cable, which brings electricity from France to a converter station in Kent, where 12 fire engines attended the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Continue reading...Far-right journalist quits French TV show amid election rumours
Éric Zemmour is about to begin a book tour, but has not yet announced his candidacy for president
The French far-right journalist and commentator Éric Zemmour has stepped down from his nightly TV show, heightening speculation that he could make an outsider bid to run in next year’s French presidential election.
The 63-year-old, who was a political journalist for Le Figaro, holds convictions for inciting hatred and is best known for his TV diatribes against immigration and Islam.
Continue reading...Work begins on wrapping Arc de Triomphe for Christo artwork
Operation combining art and engineering on a massive scale fulfils dream of late artist couple
Shortly after the sun rose over central Paris, the first of the orange-clad rope technicians hopped over the top of the Arc de Triomphe and began to abseil down the landmark unrolling a swathe of silvery blue fabric that shimmered in the early light.
Someone clapped as the first abseiler went over the top – 50 metres from the ground – but most in the crowd of onlookers just held their breath. It was a slow and meticulous operation, requiring them to stop make adjustments to the folds in the material every few metres while avoiding touching the arch itself.
Continue reading...Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to run for French presidency
Socialist to campaign on her story of ‘overcoming class prejudice’ in bid to win back voters for the left in 2022
The Socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has announced a bid for the French presidency, saying that as a woman with working-class, immigrant roots she will try to repair the anger and divisions in French society and win back low-income workers disillusioned with the left.
“The Republican model is disintegrating before our eyes,” Hidalgo told supporters gathered on the docks in Rouen, Normandy. She warned of growing inequalities, saying: “I want all children in France to have the same opportunities I had.”
Continue reading...France’s former health minister charged over handling of Covid crisis
Agnès Buzyn accused of ‘endangering the lives of others’ after early statements minimised risk of pandemic
France’s former health minister Agnès Buzyn has been charged over her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic after investigators at a special court in Paris concluded there were grounds to prosecute her.
Buzyn has been charged with “endangering the lives of others”, according to the prosecutor in a special court that deals with ministerial accountability. A second possible offence of “failure to stop a disaster” was not brought.
Continue reading...Who will take on Macron in France’s 2022 presidential race?
A #MeToo figurehead, a mayor and a hate-speech ideologue among those tipped to put their hats in the ring
At rush hour at Paris’s Saint-Lazare station, activists, including a civil servant in a government ministry and a former climate-change protester, were out canvassing for an unusual would-be candidate for French president.
Their choice, Sandrine Rousseau, is a figurehead of the French #MeToo movement against sexual violence, an economist and university vice-chancellor and promises a new form of “punk ecology”.
Continue reading...Moulin Rouge gets ready for reopening – in pictures
Moulin Rouge performed a full dress rehearsal two days ahead of the reopening of the cabaret following an 18-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Moulin Rouge and Le Lido, emblems of the crazy Parisian nights since 1889, will open again on 10 September.
Continue reading...France accuses Patel of blackmail in row over Channel migrants
Interior minister says UK plans to return boats of vulnerable people would not be accepted
Priti Patel has been accused by France’s interior minister of plotting “financial blackmail” and a violation of international maritime law in a deepening diplomatic row over efforts to prevent migrants from crossing the Channel by boat.
Gérald Darmanin said that UK plans, released on Wednesday night, to send back boats of vulnerable people into French waters would not be accepted by his government.
Continue reading...Syria cement plant at centre of terror finance investigation ‘used by western spies’
Jordanian intelligence officer tells Guardian Lafarge factory was used by intelligence agencies to gather information on IS hostages
A cement plant in Syria at the centre of a terror financing investigation in France was used by western intelligence agencies to gather information on hostages held by Islamic State, sources connected to the operation have said.
A Jordanian intelligence officer who was central to the spying effort has confirmed to the Guardian that the Lafarge factory, which continued operating after the terrorist group overran eastern Syria, in one of the most controversial episodes of the war, was the regional hub of a failed effort to rescue up to 30 hostages. Those IS held included the American journalist James Foley, British photographer John Cantlie and Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh, two of whom were later confirmed to have been killed.
Continue reading...France grants citizenship to 12,000 Covid frontline workers
Fast-track scheme is aimed at those whose jobs put them at risk in pandemic
France has granted citizenship to more than 12,000 frontline workers whose jobs put them at risk during the Covid pandemic under a special fast-track scheme.
As well as speeding up the application process, which normally takes up to two years, the government also cut the residency requirement from five years to two.
Continue reading...Priti Patel to send boats carrying migrants to UK back across Channel
Border Force is being trained on ‘turn-around’ tactics but France warns plan could endanger lives
Priti Patel is preparing to send back small boats carrying migrants in the Channel despite warnings from the French authorities that it could endanger lives.
Border Force staff are being trained to employ “turn-around” tactics at sea under plans developed for two years, a statement from the Home Office said.
Continue reading...Jewellery worth €10m stolen in heist at Bulgari store in Paris
Two armed robbers are in custody after a police chase, with a hunt under way for remaining suspects
A group of thieves have struck the Bulgari store on the Place Vendôme in Paris, making off with about €10m (£8.6m) in jewellery. They then led police on a high-speed chase during which two of the suspects were captured, sources have told AFP.
Three individuals, wearing sharp suits and armed with guns, robbed the recently revamped boutique on the Place Vendôme in central Paris, where the Ritz hotel is located, shortly before midday on Tuesday, police said.
Continue reading...Belgian broadcaster releases interview with on-the-run Paris terror suspect
RTBF reporter unwittingly spoke to Salah Abdeslam, alleged kingpin of attacks that killed 130
A day before he goes on trial in the French capital, Belgian public broadcaster RTBF has released an interview with the alleged kingpin of the Paris terror attacks, recorded as he was fleeing France in the aftermath of the 2015 massacre.
Salah Abdeslam and 19 others are accused of planning, aiding and carrying out the 13 November suicide bomb and gun attacks on the Stade de France, bars, restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall that killed 130 people and injured 490.
Continue reading...Jean-Paul Belmondo: the beaten-up icon who made crime sexy
Immortalised by Godard and Melville, the actor specialised in seductive tough guys – and blazed a trail through movie history
On the streets of Paris, car thief and fugitive cop killer Michel Poiccard has just been gunned down by the police, having shown an insolent, fatalistic attitude to the idea of getting caught, and indeed to the revelation that his American girlfriend Patricia, wannabe journalist and street vendor of the New York Herald Tribune, has ratted him out. She leans over Michel as he lies dying in a puddle of blood. Will Michel come up with some resonant last words? Not exactly. Defying agony from his bullet wounds, he just clownishly stretches his face into the two silly expressions he’d earlier used to explain the phrase “faire la tête”: a goofy silent scream, then a panto grin. Isn’t this what acting is, what life is: tragedy, comedy, faces, speeches? Who cares?
This unforgettably bizarre, throwaway gesture – the equal of “Here’s looking at you, kid” from Michel’s beloved Bogart – set the seal on Jean-Paul Belmondo’s sensational breakthrough in 1960 in Jean-Luc Godard’s equally legendary debut, À Bout de Souffle (AKA Breathless), from a treatment by François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol, and co-starring Jean Seberg as the American mesmerised by his erotic, existential bravado.
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