France

France posts record number of new COVID-19 cases

The French health ministry reported a record number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday at 32,427, after reporting 25,086 on Friday. The total number of infections since the…

Read More Here

Samuel Paty, the beheaded French teacher was target of social media hate campaign

Samuel Paty, the teacher beheaded outside his school in a Paris suburb, was described by his pupils and their parents as caring and professional. But he was killed after becoming…

Read More Here

France report 25,086 new coronavirus cases

The French health ministry reported 25,086 new confirmed coronavirus cases in past 24 hours on Friday, after reporting a record 30,621 on Thursday. It also reported that 122 people had…

Read More Here

French police arrest nine after suspect Islamist beheaded school teacher

French police have arrested nine people after a suspected Islamist sympathiser beheaded a school teacher on the street of a Paris suburb on Friday, police sources said. Investigators were trying…

Read More Here

Sarkozy indicted for concealment of Libyan public funds in new corruption charges

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy claimed on Friday his "innocence is again violated" after new charges were issued against him as part of an investigation into the alleged illegal campaign…

Read More Here

Teacher knifed to death in France after showing class cartoons of Prophet Mohammad

A middle school history teacher in France was knifed to death near the school where earlier this month he had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, considered blasphemous by Muslims,…

Read More Here

Man decapitated in Paris – Terror probe launched

A man has been found decapitated in the French department of Val-d'Oise, located some 28 km northwest of Paris. The suspect is also reported to have been shot dead. Police…

Read More Here

France promises 1 billion euros for curfew-hit companies

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire promised 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) of additional support to help French companies cushion the impact of a nightly curfew in Paris and eight other…

Read More Here

Concern as France’s new COVID-19 cases set new 24-hour record, Spain registers 13,300 cases

French health authorities on Thursday reported the number of new daily coronavirus infections jumped above 30,000 for the first time since the start of the epidemic. French President Emmanuel Macron…

Read More Here

France says EU should press ahead with digital tax plans

The European Union should press ahead with plans for a bloc-wide digital tax in case global talks at the OECD to rewrite international tax rules fail, French Finance Minister Bruno…

Read More Here

Paris to go under curfew from 9pm-6am

France has imposed a curfew in Paris and eight other cities from Saturday. “We have to act. We need to put a brake on the spread of the virus,” President…

Read More Here

France declares public health state of emergency – Update

he French government on Wednesday declared a public health state of emergency, giving officials greater powers to impose new measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. "The COVID-19 epidemic constitutes…

Read More Here

France’s COVID cases keep surging as new restrictions loom

New COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths all spiked further in France on Tuesday as the nation braced for additional restrictions that President Emmanuel Macron may unveil in nationally televised speech…

Read More Here

Al-Hariri calls for restoration of French plan for Lebanon

Lebanon's leading Sunni Muslim politician, former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, called for the restoration of a French plan to lift the nation out of its worst financial crisis since its…

Read More Here

Attack on police station in Paris suburb reported

About 40 unidentified people armed with metal bars and using fireworks as projectiles tried to storm a police station in the Paris suburbs on Saturday night, officials said. “Violent attack…

Read More Here

French aid worker describes years in captivity in Mali desert

At one point during her four years in the hands of jihadist militants in northern Mali, French aid worker Sophie Petronin said she felt like giving up hope. She wandered…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Skeleton of Allosaurus dinosaur on auction in France

Handout photos made available by the Drouot Auction House in Paris shows the skeleton of an Allosaurus dinosaur species from the Upper Jurassic (161-145 million years) discovered in the Johnson…

Read More Here

France struggles to contain coronavirus spread

The number of new coronavirus infections in France jumped more than 20,000 in one day for the first time since the start of the epidemic, health ministry data showed on…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Exhibit on Olmec civilization opens in Paris

Photos taken during a press preview of the exhibition 'The Olmecs and the Civilizations from the Gulf of Mexico' at the Quai Branly Museum-Jacques Chirac, a museum featuring indigenous art…

Read More Here

Kidnapped Mali politician, French aid worker and two Italians freed

Freed Malian politician Soumaila Cisse, French aid worker Sophie Petronin and two Italians arrived in Bamako on Thursday aboard a Malian military transport plane, ending their lengthy captivity in the…

Read More Here

Hospitals in the Paris moved into emergency mode as COVID-19 cases at record high

France’s third-biggest city Lyon will have to close its bars in coming days as its coronavirus infection rates are spiking and its hospital emergency beds are filling up quickly with…

Read More Here

France orders new restrictions in Lyon and Lille

In France, the government will put Lyon and Lille on maximum Covid-19 alert, France Inter radio has reported, paving the way for new restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus…

Read More Here

Two police injured after shooting in Herblay, north of Paris

Two policemen have been injured after a late night shooting in the French city of Herblay, north of the capital, its mayor said on Thursday, adding that police were hunting…

Read More Here

France announces new COVID-19 restrictions as new daily cases at all-time high, hospitalisations up

French President Emmanuel Macron says there will be new restrictions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country reported a new all-time high, at almost 19,000, of new infections of…

Read More Here

French doctors raise alarm on delay of cancer screenings due to coronavirus

French doctors and volunteers across the country have sounded the alarm over the dangers of delaying cancer screenings because of the coronavirus pandemic. France 24 reports that with the number…

Read More Here

More than half of Paris’ poorest residents have Covid, new survey finds

More than half of the Paris region's poorest residents, notably migrants, have been infected with the coronavirus, according to French aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres. The alarming figures were released…

Read More Here

France’s AccorInvest in debt-restructuring talks

French hotel real estate group AccorInvest is in talks with its banks over a possible restructuring of more than 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) of debts, financial daily Les Echos…

Read More Here

Warning that wild sea bass fishing is causing trawlers to kill dolphins and porpoise

Wild sea bass is off the menu as the European fishing industry is killing thousands of dolphins and porpoises, conservationists warned. Bay of Biscay sea bass are often caught using…

Read More Here

France cuts wine production forecast after champagne harvest drop

France's farm ministry on Tuesday reduced its forecast of 2020 wine production to below the average of recent years as it factored in smaller harvest volumes in the Champagne region.…

Read More Here

Paris to shut bars and raise alert to maximum

Paris is to be placed on maximum COVID-19 alert, meaning bars will be forced to close for two weeks from Tuesday and restaurants will have to put in place new…

Read More Here

Seven bodies found in northern Italy, France after violent storms

Seven bodies were found in a region straddling the French-Italian border near Nice on Sunday after torrential rains swept houses and roads away, officials in both countries said. Five of…

Read More Here

France registers record 17,000 confirmed new cases

France reported nearly 17,000 new confirmed coronavirus infections on Saturday, about 5,000 more than on the previous day, setting a new daily record. The number of infections rose by 16,972…

Read More Here

Two killed, 25 missing in floods after storms hit France and Italy

Two people died and 25 people were missing in France and Italy after a storm hit border regions of the two countries, bringing record rainfall in places and causing heavy…

Read More Here

Macron launches crackdown on ‘Islamist separatism’ in Muslim communities

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Friday to fight "Islamist separatism", which he said was threatening to take control in some Muslim communities around France. France has struggled with homegrown…

Read More Here

French Pasteur Institute aims to start human trials of Covid-19 drug this winter

The Pasteur Institute in the northern French city of Lille has confirmed the discovery of a “very promising” drug in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, without naming it. As infection rates…

Read More Here

Restaurants in Paris in danger of being shutdown as coronavirus roars back

Paris is set to be placed on maximum COVID alert from as soon as Monday, Health Minister Olivier Veran said, a move likely to force the closure of restaurants and…

Read More Here

France says needs new pandemic business insurance law

France will need a law requiring insurers to offer businesses coverage for losses linked to future pandemics, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday. "The state is not…

Read More Here

France accuses Turkey of sending Syrian mercenaries to Nagorno-Karabakh

France accused Turkey on Thursday of sending Syrian mercenaries to fight in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and said it was working with Russia to reach a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and ethnic…

Read More Here

Air France’s revenue fell 70% in August

Air France suffered a 70% fall in revenue in August while filling only about 30% of the seats on its intercontinental routes, its CEO has told Italian newspaper Corriere della…

Read More Here

Macron criticises Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric on Nagorno-Karabakh

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday Turkey's "warlike" rhetoric was encouraging Azerbaijan to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh and that was unacceptable, though he added that he had no proof at this…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Blast heard all over Paris was fighter jet sonic boom

A French fighter jet broke the sound barrier as it scrambled to join a commercial jet that had lost contact with air traffic control on Wednesday, causing a sonic boom…

Read More Here

France to ban wild animals from travelling circuses

France said it planned to "gradually" ban mink farms in the country as well the use of wild animals in travelling circuses and the breeding of dolphins and orcas in…

Read More Here

Hospitals in France delay operations to cope with COVID surge

Hospitals in the Paris and Marseille regions are delaying some scheduled operations to free up space for COVID-19 patients as the French government tries to stem a rising tide of…

Read More Here

Icardi double gives PSG 2-0 win at Reims

French champions Paris St Germain earned their third successive Ligue 1 win after their opening two defeats as Argentine striker Mauro Icardi scored twice in their 2-0 win at struggling…

Read More Here

Macron says Lukashenko has to go

French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that Belarus's leader Alexander Lukashenko must step down, after the EU refused to recognise him as the legitimate president of the ex-Soviet country. It's…

Read More Here

France will not let Lebanon down – source close to Macron

France will not let Lebanon down, a source close to French president Emmanuel Macron told Reuters on Saturday, following the decision of its prime minister-designate to quit after trying for…

Read More Here

The second wave came faster than we thought – French Doctors’ head

France will face a months-long coronavirus epidemic that will overwhelm its health system if something does not change, one of the country's top medical figures warned Sunday. France 24 reports…

Read More Here

New scientific model said to predict virus peaks of contamination in Europe

A team of researchers has revealed a pioneering model that aims to predict the rate of propagation of Covid-19 in each country in Europe. A team of scientists has set about…

Read More Here

Coronavirus cases pass half-million mark in France

The number of coronavirus cases in France has passed 500,000, authorities said on Friday after recording a near-record daily jump in infections. The total number stood at 513,034, health ministry…

Read More Here

Paris knife attack near former Charlie Hebdo office declared act of terrorism

Two people were seriously wounded in a knife attack in central Paris near the former offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Friday, police said. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin…

Read More Here

France registers 14,412 new cases

France registered 14,412 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, not far from a daily record of 16,096 set earlier this week. The total number of cases now stands at 527,446,…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Knife attack outside Charlie Hebdo’s former office in Paris, suspect arrested

Reports from Paris, France are indicating that at least four persons were injured in knife attack outside Charlie Hebdo's former office in the French capital. At least one of the…

Read More Here

France rejects UK ‘intimidation’ on post-Brexit deal

France has dismissed this week's dire British warnings about post-Brexit transport delays across the Channel as tactical posturing, the Financial Times reported on Friday. "Of course, the signals that have…

Read More Here

Spectre of new lockdowns in France as COVID-19 cases increase

France’s prime minister warned that the government could be forced to reconfine areas if the number of COVID-19 cases did not improve in the coming weeks and defended tough restrictions…

Read More Here

France to shut bars and restaurants in hard-hit Marseille as it tightens virus measures

France’s health minister unveiled a map of coronavirus “danger zones” around the country on Wednesday and gave the hardest-hit local authorities, including that of Marseille, days to tighten restrictions or…

Read More Here

French business activity slows unexpectedly as COVID-19 cases spike

French business activity slowed to a four-month low in September, with services weaker than expected as France struggles to contain a surge in new COVID-19 cases, a monthly survey showed…

Read More Here

Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat

The Eiffel Tower has been evacuated over a reported bomb threat. A large area around the Paris landmark is said to have been cordoned off by police, with people urged to stay away from…

Read More Here