France

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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Britain, Germany, France and Spain tell Maduro to hold elections within eight days or they will join Trump in recognising opponent’s claim to power

Update : Britain is to join the Trump administration in recognising Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela if fresh elections are not announced within the next eight days,…

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Yellow Vests launch MEP candidate list

Members of France's Yellow Jackets movement announced the first names on a list of candidates to run in May's European Parliament election, according to French media. The list so far…

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France and Germany sign new bilateral treaty between the two countries for deeper cooperation and paved way for EU reforms

A follow-up pact to the Elysee Treaty marks the latest gesture of friendship between France and Germany. The new bilateral pact pledges deeper cooperation between the two nations and paves…

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France summons Italian ambassador after Di Maio accuses France of exploiting Africa and fuelling migration

France has summoned Italy's ambassador after the Italian deputy prime minister accused the French of exploiting Africa and fuelling migration. On Sunday, Luigi di Maio called on the European Union…

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Wife of former Interpol chief applies for asylum in France

The wife of the former Interpol chief being held in China on corruption charges has applied for asylum in France, her spokesperson has said. Grace Meng was put under police…

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France tiggers hard-Brexit contingency plan

France is to invest €50 million to help its ports and airports cope in the event of a hard Brexit, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced Thursday. The planned spending is…

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Massive explosion at Lyon University

A massive explosion has been seen at a university building in Lyon, France. Footage of the blast shows a fireball erupting into the sky above the building where a smaller…

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Fourth victim found under rubble after explosion in Paris bakery

Update via France24 - A powerful explosion and fire caused by a gas leak at a Paris bakery on Saturday killed two firefighters and a Spanish national and injured almost…

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60 arrests made in France following violent clashes with Yellow Jackets protesters

French police made nearly 60 arrests in Paris and dozens more in cities across the country following violent clashes with Yellow Jackets protesters, AFP reported. The Interior Ministry said that 32,000…

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Sunday Morning Briefing and News Paper Review

Good morning, Your morning briefing gives you a roundup of the main headlines from the world and the main stories reported in today's front pages of Malta's newspapers. Latest Headlines Left-wing…

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French Mirage disappears amidst fear it may have crashed

A French Mirage 2000-D fighter jet has disappeared from radar in a mountainous region of eastern France, prompting fears it may have crashed. French officials said the plane vanished from…

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Deal reached brings end to saga of 49 people stranded off Maltese shores

An agreement on a deal has been reached which will bring to end the saga of a group of 49 long-suffering migrants disembarking in Malta from two NGO rescue ships…

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Sicilian notorious mafia boss Totò Riina’s daughter opens Paris restaurant “Corleone”

The daughter of a notorious Sicilian mafia boss has opened a restaurant near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris called Corleone. Lucia Riina, a painter and the youngest child of…

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France and Germany ready to take 100 persons from Malta – Malta insists for redistribution of the 249 migrants which disembarked in Malta in December – EU intensifies diplomatic efforts to solve impasse UPDATED with Maltese Government Position

Update: The government said it would be providing any assistance to the stranded vessels in case of an emergency, adding that any relocation agreement should include 249 migrants rescued by…

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Italy, Germany, France, Portugal, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Romania ready to take persons stranded off Malta, if Malta lets them in

Italy, Germany, France, Portugal, Luxembourg, the Netherland and Romania are reported to have expressed their commitment to take the people stranded off Malta in the diplomatic stand-off which is seeing…

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Swedish ambassador to France questions absence of Police in protests hitting Paris

With no police in sight, Sweden’s ambassador to France called on neighbors to help put out a small fire lit outside her Embassy during “yellow vest” protests against high living…

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Yellow Vest protests degenerate on Saturday afternoon

France's Yellow Vest protesters gathered in cities throughout the country on Saturday in "Act VIII" of their movement against French President Emmanuel Macron's economic policies Saturday began peacefully but degenerated…

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Criticism after Yellow Vest leader arrested by French police

One of the leaders of the "Yellow Vest" demonstrations in France was arrested on Wednesday by police in Paris, before being released on Thursday. This signals a harder line from…

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UK and France agree to step up actions to deal with migrant crossing across English Channel

UK and France have agreed to step up action to deal with migrants making the perilous attempt to cross the English Channel in small boats. An “enhanced action plan” to…

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12-year-old rescue after avalanche in French Alps deemed ‘true miracle’ by rescuers

A 12-year-old boy was found alive and uninjured in the French Alps after being buried under an avalanche for 40 minutes, an event his rescuers are calling a true “miracle”.…

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Russia dismisses calls by Germany and France for the immediate and unconditional release of 24 Ukrainian sailors detained by Russia

Update : Russia on Saturday dismissed a statement by the leaders of France and Germany accusing it of using military force and carrying out illegitimate checks on Ukrainian vessels in…

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French company Vinci acquires 50.01 per cent of Gatwick airport

When drones were spotted hovering around Gatwick airport in the week before Christmas, it was not only flights that were delayed — the airport’s owners had to put the sale…

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Recent attempts by migrants to cross the English Channel into Britain is to be treated as a major incident – Update

The recent attempts by migrants to cross the English Channel into Britain is to be treated as a major incident, the UK's Home Secretary Sajid Javid said. Javid said he…

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Macron expresses his regret for Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he deeply regretted U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. In an abrupt policy shift, Trump announced on Wednesday…

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Brexit – The other side of the ‘equation’

BREXIT isn't just about Britain. On the other side of the negotiating table there are 27 other European States which form the European Union. Some of them reacted as follows…

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Macron promises increase in minimum wage and tax concessions

France's President Emmanuel Macron has promised a minimum wage rise and tax concessions in response to weeks of violent protests. BBC reports that speaking in a televised address to the…

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Macron to meet trade unions, employers and associations of local elected officials and Senate after fourth weekend of protests

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet representatives of trade unions, employers’ organisations and associations of local elected officials on Monday, an Élysée Palace source told France 24 reports on Sunday. Macron will also…

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Hundreds arrested in Paris after new wave of Yellow Jacket protests – Trump uses protest to attack Macron and Paris Climate deal

French authorities arrested hundreds of people on Saturday as a new wave of Yellow Jacket protests got underway in Paris and across the country. More than 600 people were stopped…

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