Tag Archives: France

France Enshrines Abortion Rights In Its Constitution

Reuters reports: France on Monday enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution, a world first welcomed by women’s rights groups as historic and harshly criticised by anti-abortion groups. MPs and senators overwhelmingly backed the move, by 780 votes against 72, in a special joint vote of the two houses of parliament, under the gilded ceilings of Versailles Palace, just …

Read More »

Macron Appoints France’s First Openly Gay PM

Reuters reports: French President Emmanuel Macron appointed 34-year-old Education Minister Gabriel Attal [photo] as his new prime minister on Tuesday, seeking to breathe new life into his second mandate ahead of European parliament elections. The move will not necessarily lead to any major political shift, but signals a desire for Macron to try to move beyond last year’s unpopular pension …

Read More »

United Airlines Pilot Arrested After Showing Up Drunk

USA Today reports: A United Airlines pilot had his license suspended after turning up drunk to work a flight from Paris to Dallas on Sunday. French media reports that the pilot, identified as Henry W., received a six month suspended prison sentence and was fined 4,500 euros in addition to having his license suspended for a year. According to local …

Read More »

Far-Right French Party Secretly Worked With Kremlin

France 24 reports: After a six-month inquiry and more than 50 hearings, the cross-party parliamentary inquiry found that the National Rally (Rassemblement national or RN) party had served as a “communication channel” for Russian power. The text, due to be published next week, was adopted on Thursday by eleven votes to five – to the dismay of the inquiry’s chair …

Read More »

Paris Olympics Vows To Press For LGBTQ Rights

The Associated Press reports: Organizers of the Paris Olympics, who gave rainbow colors to their logo Wednesday to mark the international day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, aren’t limiting themselves to promises of inclusive Games next year. They say they also intend to seize on the Olympic spotlight to push a broader message that LGBTQ rights need to progress outside …

Read More »

French Catholic Priests Issued Scannable ID Cards So People Can Tell Which Ones Are Accused Pedophiles

France 24 reports: Old sins cast long shadows. After centuries of secrecy, the French Bishop’s Conference (CEF) has decided it will be more transparent by equipping priests, bishops and deacons with digital, scannable identification cards. No bigger than a bankcard, the IDs will certify whether or not its holder is fit to perform a sermon or has the right to …

Read More »

Paris Mass Shooter Proclaimed “Hatred Of Foreigners”

Reuters reports: The suspect detained over the killing of three Kurdish people in Paris told investigators of his “hatred of foreigners”, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday. The 69-year-old man was arrested on Friday after shooting dead two men and a woman at a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby Kurdish cafe in the 10th district of Paris. The suspect said …

Read More »

Argentina Defeats France In World Cup Final [VIDEO]

The Washington Post reports: Lionel Messi finally won the biggest prize in soccer as Argentina beat France 4-2 in a penalty shootout Sunday to claim a third World Cup title despite Kylian Mbappé scoring the first hat trick in a final in 56 years. Gonzalo Montiel scored the clinching penalty kick as Argentina won after a 3-3 draw. Both countries …

Read More »

France To Face Argentina In World Cup Final [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: France and Kylian Mbappé are headed back to the World Cup final for a much-anticipated matchup with Lionel Messi after ending Morocco’s historic run at soccer’s biggest tournament. France will head into Sunday’s title match against Argentina looking to become the first team to retain the World Cup title since Brazil in 1962. France will be …

Read More »

27-Year-Old Takes Helm Of France’s Far-Right Party

Reuters reports: France’s far-right Rassemblement National (RN) elected Jordan Bardella as its new president on Saturday, overwhelmingly backing the 27-year-old European Parliament member to succeed Marine Le Pen in the post. Bardella, a party loyalist who had already been interim president for a year, won nearly 85% of party members’ votes, against 15% for his challenger Louis Aliot, who is …

Read More »

French Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard Dies At Age 91

Reuters reports: Film director Jean-Luc Godard, the godfather of France’s New Wave cinema who pushed cinematic boundaries and inspired iconoclastic directors decades after his 1960s heyday, died on Tuesday aged 91, his family and producers said. Godard was among the world’s most acclaimed directors, known for such classics as “Breathless” and “Contempt”, which broke with convention and helped kickstart a …

Read More »

Air France Pilots Suspended After Mid-Flight Fight

Bloomberg News reports: Two Air France pilots were suspended after coming to blows in the cockpit of an Airbus jetliner during a flight between Geneva and Paris, the latest safety issue to plague the airline. The mid-air dispute occurred in June, according to a spokeswoman for the carrier Saturday, who confirmed a report by La Tribune newspaper. The dispute turned …

Read More »

First Human-To-Pet Monkeypox Case Seen In France

The Washington Post reports: The potential case of human-to-dog transmission was discovered in a 4-year-old Italian greyhound 12 days after its owners had an onset of monkeypox symptoms, according to the Lancet report. The dog had lesions on its skin and mucous membranes, pustules on its abdomen and a thin anal ulceration. Medical staffers matched one of the dog owners’ …

Read More »

Le Pen Gloats After Far-Right Wins 89 Assembly Seats

ABC News reports: France awakened to an ecstatic Marine Le Pen on Monday after her party’s far-right candidates for parliament sent shockwaves through the political establishment and helped deny Macron’s centrist alliance an absolute majority. It was only a couple of months ago that Le Pen lost the presidential election. But now it was her turn to gloat, since she …

Read More »

Self-Proclaimed “Discotheque” Inventor Dies At 92

Deadline Hollywood reports: Regine, who claimed to have invented the term “discotheque” as she ran a nightclub empire that stretched from Paris to Los Angeles, has died. She passed on Sunday at age 92, according to her granddaughter. At its height, her nightlife empire had 22 venues. Born Regina Zylberberg in Belgium, Regine opened her first nightclub in Paris’s Latin …

Read More »

Putin Sends Macron “Sincere” Congratulations On Win

The New York Times reports: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia congratulated Emmanuel Macron on Monday for his re-election as France’s president after defeating Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate many in Russia favored as a potential game-changing option for the Kremlin amid the threat of new sanctions and in the midst of the war in Ukraine. “I sincerely wish …

Read More »

Le Pen Concedes, Calls Result “Victory” For Far-Right

The New York Times reports: Ms. Le Pen conceded defeat in her third attempt to become president, but bitterly criticized the “brutal and violent methods” of Mr. Macron. She vowed to fight on to secure a large number of representatives in legislative elections in June, declaring that “French people have this evening shown their desire for a strong counter power …

Read More »

Emmanuel Macron Projected To Have Won Reelection

CNN reports: Emmanuel Macron will win France’s presidential election, pollsters project, fending off a historic challenge from right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen during Sunday’s runoff vote. President Macron is expected to take 58.2% of the vote to Le Pen’s 41.8%, according to an analysis of voting data by pollsters Ipsos & Sopra Steria conducted for broadcasters France Televisions and Radio …

Read More »

Le Pen’s Party Pays $13M To Russian Military Contractor

The Wall Street Journal reports: The far-right party of French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has begun paying a settlement of 12 million euros—equivalent to $12.94 million—to a Russian military contractor under U.S. sanctions, part of a debt restructuring that granted her party more time to repay a loan it took from a Russian bank, according to Russian and French …

Read More »

Final Polls: Macron +10 Ahead Of Sunday Runoff

Politico Europe reports: Voters in France return to the polling booths on Sunday in a second-round runoff vote to decide who will be their president for the next five years — the incumbent Emmanuel Macron or his far-right rival Marine Le Pen. All available voting intention polls aggregated in our POLITICO Poll of Polls show Macron winning reelection with 55 …

Read More »