France

Air France pilot from Entebbe hijacking dies at 95

Captain Michel Bacos, whose flight was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists on June 27, 1976 and insisted on staying with Israeli captives in Entebbe, has died aged 95. Bacos…

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Cooperation between China and Europe dominates meetings’ agenda

Cooperation is the mainstream in China-Europe relations, and even if there are differences and competition, it is benign competition, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday during a visit to…

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China’s Xi heads to France

Chinese President Xi Jinping heads to the French Riviera on Sunday for the final leg of his European tour. Xi's trip will begin in the Mediterranean city of Nice and…

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Yellow Vests banned from Champs-Élysées

French police have banned the "gilets jaunes" (yellow vest) protesters from the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Saturday after rioters destroyed businesses last week. The government has warned that it intends…

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French soldiers with orders to fire if threatened in Yellow Vests protests

General Bruno Leray, military governor of Paris, in a rare public address, said soldiers mobilized for Saturday's planned Yellow Vests protests, the gilets jaunes, will operate under strict instructions, but…

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Troops to be deployed in streets of France during Yellow Vest protests

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that soldiers will be deployed across the country to help maintain security during more yellow vest protests planned this weekend. Macron said the military…

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Yellow Jackets protest movement led to ‘explosion’ of false and misleading news

France's Yellow Jackets protest movement led to an explosion of false or misleading news items circulating on Facebook, with posts shared some 4 million times over a five-month period, according…

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French Minister for European Affairs names her cat Brexit

Update: Despite reports to the contrary, French Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau has not named her cat "Brexit", her office said on Tuesday France’s minister for European affairs was reported saying…

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Yellow Vests Violence – French government fires Paris Police commissioner

The French government on Monday sacked the Paris police chief and vowed to crack down harder on Yellow Jackets protesters after a resurgence of violence in weekend demonstrations. Prime Minister Edouard…

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French couple barred from naming son Grizemann Mbappe

A football-mad couple in south-west France have been barred from naming their son "Griezmann Mbappe" after two of the stars of France's World Cup-winning team. A family judge in the…

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Clean-Up operation underway in a race to prevent heavy fuel oil damage after shipwreck in France

Despite poor weather conditions, four ships began a clean-up operation on Friday afternoon. The 214-metre-long vessel sank on Tuesday, 300 kilometres west of the French town of La Rochelle, carrying…

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UPDATED: Violence in the streets of Paris during Yellow Vest protest

After weeks of declining participation, France's "yellow vest" protest movement attempted to rebound on Saturday with a major rally in Paris. It quickly turned violent with Police firing tear gas…

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Nationalities of people on board crashed Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max announced

The Ethiopian Airlines CEO and Kenya’s transport minister say Canadians, Chinese, Americans and others are among the many nationalities among the victims of Sunday morning’s deadly plane crash after takeoff…

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Italian government defuses multibillion-euro TAV project row

Giuseppe Conte, the Italian Prime Minister, halted the launch of tenders for a high-speed rail link to France, defusing a dispute within the ruling coalition over the project that…

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Cartoon Selection – Europe’s Renaissance according to Macron

First published on POLITICO.eu, Belgium, March 9, 2019 | By Rytis Daukantas

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Polls in Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Spain and France show that Far-Right parties are to double seats in European Parliament

Far-right parties are poised to double their seats in the European Parliament election in May, while mainstream conservative and Social Democratic groups face big losses, a new poll released by…

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Rise in anti-Semitism in France linked to ‘Yellow-Vests’

France has seen a 74% rise in anti-Semitic incidents over the past year, according to French authorities. France is the home to Europe's largest Jewish community, CNN reports that French President…

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Was Malta used as a test-base for the Nutella biscuits prior to their official market launch today?

Italian news agencies report the launch of the Nutella biscuits, for now only in France. The biscuits, who had the Maltese shops during 2018, were launched officially on Thursday through…

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Prominent French cardinal convicted of child sex abuse cover-up

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was found guilty by a court in Lyon of failing to report to the justice authorities accusations against a paedophile priest in his diocese in what…

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France unveils the “tax of the 21st Century”

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (photo above) has unveiled plans for what is being described as the "tax of the 21st Century." A new French tax on digital giants.…

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Macron calls for a revision of the Schengen system

French President Emmanuel Macron has made an impassioned defence of a new Europe in a newspaper column published in each of the 28 member states in which he laid out…

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Macron seeks reconciliation with Italy

French President Emmanuel Macron held out the olive branch with Italy following a diplomatic spat that saw Paris briefly recall its ambassador. In the spirit of reconciliation, Macron said he…

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Riots in Grenoble after French teen deaths

Rioters clashed with police in the eastern French city of Grenoble on Sunday night after two teenagers died while they were being chased by police. The BBC reports that…

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Another mass attempt by migrants to board cross-Channel ferry to Dover

Police in the French port of Calais arrested more than 40 migrants on Sunday after an attempt to board a cross-Channel ferry bound for Dover. French police sprung into action…

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Sixteenth consecutive week of demonstrations by France’s Yellow Vests

France 24 reported that once more on Saturday, Yellow Vests took to the streets of France for the sixteenth consecutive week of protests amid signs of waning support. For more…

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France asks for clarifications after Dutch acquisition of significant stake in Air-France-KLM

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the Dutch government must "clarify its intentions" after purchasing a significant stake in the Air France-KLM alliance without first informing Paris. "The government was…

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EU agriculture is threatened by internal divisions and rival trading blocs – Macron

European Union agriculture is being threatened by internal divisions and rival trading blocs, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday, calling for a large budget to defend EU goals on…

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France mulls encouraging people on sick leave to work for home to tackle absenteeism

France is mulling tackling a rising tide of workers taking sick leave by encouraging them to work from home when ill. Sick leave costs France’s social security system up to…

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Benalla Affair – French Senate demands investigation of three close aides to Macron

A French Senate commission demanded Wednesday an investigation into three close aides to President Emmanuel Macron after finding "major flaws" in the government's handling of a scandal involving security aide…

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French police shoot man after four wounded in knife attack

French police have shot a man after four people were wounded in a knife attack in Marseille. The case happened in central Marseille on Tuesday. The individual had tried to…

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Macron condemns antisemitic abuse by Gilet Jaunes

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned antisemitic abuse of a leading intellectual by gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protestors and said it would not be tolerated. Police intervened to protect…

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French ambassador to Italy returns to Rome

France’s ambassador to Italy returned to Rome on Friday, eight days after his recall by President Emmanuel Macron, as the European neighbors defused their worst diplomatic crisis since World War…

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Vatican’s envoy to France is under investigation for sexual assault – CNN

The Vatican's envoy to France is being investigated for sexual assault after he was accused of molesting a official at the Paris mayor's office during a ceremony last month, a…

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More than half of France’s population wants that yellow vests protests end

More than half of France's population want the "gilets jaunes" (yellow vests) anti-government protests to stop, with two out of three people no longer believing the demonstrations reflect the group's…

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A battle for the soul of Europe – Italy and France find in one another the perfect ideological rival. – Matthew Bugeja

The governments in Rome and Paris are similar in many respects. Both found their way to power by railing against the political establishment. They promised to shake up the political…

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Macron’s closest aide resigns after Benalla Affair links

Ismaël Emelien, a close aide to President Emmanuel Macron whose name has recently been linked to the so-called “Benalla Affair”, has become the latest member of the president’s entourage to…

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Yellow vests protests turn violent

Yellow Vest protests in Paris turned violent on Saturday in front of the National Assembly, with one protester losing a hand amid reports of other casualties. In the midst of…

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How are European countries preparing for No-Deal Brexit scenarios

Britain is set to depart the European Union on March 29 but with no deal agreed on a post-Brexit relationship, some of the remaining EU27 have published guidelines on the…

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Air France is pulling out from Alitalia rescue deal for political reasons – Reports

Air France is pulling out of a deal that would save struggling Italian airline Alitalia for “political reasons”, Italian media reports. The Ferrovie dello Statto (FS) rail group, which is…

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Di Maio’s meeting with French protest leaders is a serious intrusion – Yellow Vest movement founder

One of the founders of the Yellow Vest movement has called the meeting between Italy’s deputy Prime Minister, Luigi Di Maio, and other protest leaders a serious intrusion. This comes…

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Salvini says he would be happy to meet Macron to discuss recent tensions between Italy and France

French President Emmanuel Macron’s government recalled its ambassador to Rome on Thursday in a move unprecedented since World War Two, saying it was fed up with “repeated, baseless” attacks by…

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Corporate Dispatch End of Day Roundup – Wednesday

Good evening, These are the main news as reported by Malta's news portals. The Customs Department announced a huge haul of cocaine at the Malta Freeport. Newsbook says officers found…

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Turkey condemned Macron’s declaration of Armenian genocide commemoration day

Turkey on Wednesday condemned French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to declare April 24 a day for the commemoration of the Armenian genocide, an issue that caused regular friction between Ankara…

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Paris mourns baby and nine others who died in fire

Ten people including a baby died in western Paris on Tuesday morning when a huge fire ripped through an apartment block in a suspected "criminal" act. One woman has been…

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Italo-French relations under further stress as Di Maio meets Yellow Vest movement leaders

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said he met leaders of France’s “yellow vest” anti-government movement on Tuesday, an encounter likely to further test already strained bilateral relations. Di…

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Paris fire killed at least eight people and injured around 30 others UPDATED

Flames ripped through an apartment block in Paris, killing at least eight people and injuring 36 early on Tuesday, authorities said. Prosecutors said they suspected the fire was a criminal…

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Corporate Dispatch Morning Briefing – Tuesday

Good morning Your morning briefing for Tuesday includes the newspaper's front page stories' review, the latest headlines from around the world, and reference to some insight on the situation in…

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French fighter jets strike convoy that crossed into Chad from Libya

French fighter jets struck targets in northern Chad on Sunday in support of local troops trying to repel a convoy of unidentified fighters that had crossed the border from Libya,…

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Yellow Vest protests – Macron considering referendum

President Emmanuel Macron, whose popularity plummeted to an all-time low after a proposed fuel tax rise sparked the nationwide Yellow Vest movement, is considering a strategy coup in the form…

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France warns Maduro that deadline runs out tonight

France warned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that a deadline to organise elections ran out Sunday night and that Paris was preparing to recognise his opponent, Juan Guaido. France, Germany and…

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Italy’s high-speed rail link with France ‘has no future’ – Di Maio

Italy’s high-speed rail link with France “has no future”, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Saturday, despite his fellow deputy premier in the coalition government saying the line…

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Fresh “yellow vest” protests in Paris

Several thousand “yellow vest” protesters marched through Paris and other French cities on Saturday on the 12th weekend of action against the government despite opinion polls pointing to a recovery…

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French police rape verdict comes as sexual violence complaints rise

On the day elite policemen in Paris were convicted of raping a Canadian tourist – a verdict activists hail as a watershed – an official French report noted a jump…

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France, Germany and Britain set up financial mechanism to avoid US sanctions against Iran

France, Germany and Britain have set up a financial mechanism designed to avoid US sanctions against Iran and keep the 2015 nuclear deal afloat. Instex, which stands for “instrument for…

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Southern EU Countries MED7 meet in Cyprus Summit

Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is in Cyprus today for the MED7 Southern EU Countries' Summit, where leaders from the host country, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece have just…

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Red Scarves movement appeal for calm of Yellow Vests in France

housands of demonstrators wearing red scarves marched in Paris on Sunday calling for an end to violence and economic disruption caused by nearly three months of weekend ‘yellow vest’ anti-government protests.…

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Macron dismisses verbal attacks by Italian deputy prime ministers as ‘insignficant’

French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed as insignificant the recent verbal attacks by Italy's two deputy prime ministers, saying his only counterpart was Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Matteo Salvini of the…

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