Tag Archives: France

The Associated Press reports: France has a new law that bans so-called conversion therapies and authorizes jail time and fines for practitioners who use the scientifically discredited practice to attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people. The National Assembly approved the new law unanimously, voting 142-0 on Tuesday evening. The legislation includes criminal penalties for …

USA Today reports: France passed a law Sunday that will exclude unvaccinated people from all restaurants, sports arenas, and other venues, one of the strictest measures taken by a country to stop the spread of COVID-19. French President Emmanuel Macron had hoped to push the bill through faster, but it was slightly delayed by resistance from lawmakers both on the …

The Associated Press reports: Novak Djokovic arrived in his native Serbia on Monday after being deported from Australia because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19, ending his hopes of defending his Australian Open title. But even as one saga appeared to close, another opened as questions arose over whether he would be barred from the next Grand Slam tournament, the …

Reuters reports: French politician Stephane Claireaux, who is a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling La Republique En Marche party, said on Monday that he had been attacked over the weekend by protesters demonstrating against France’s COVID health pass. Claireaux is member of Parliament for the constituency of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French overseas territory in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, …

Reuters reports: French lawmaker Jose Evrard, whose vaccine-skeptic far-right party had opposed government measures to control the spread of COVID-19, has died after contracting the coronavirus, the president of the parliament said on Friday. Representing the Pas-de-Calais region in Northern France, Evrard was one of three lawmakers affiliated with far-right splinter party “Debout la France” (Stand up, France). Its founder …

Reuters reports: The government on Wednesday defended President Emmanuel Macron’s use of a coarse insult in a stepped-up campaign against France’s unvaccinated, after the phrase drew condemnation from the opposition and mixed reactions from voters. Parliament suspended debate on a COVID-19 bill as opposition lawmakers demanded explanations from Macron, who earlier said he wanted to “piss off” unvaccinated people by …

France 24 reports: Wearing masks even outdoors will be mandatory in Paris starting on Friday, French authorities have announced, as the country struggles to come to grips with an Omicron surge. France is leading Europe in new infections, with a record 208,000 new cases confirmed over the previous 24 hours on Wednesday. That figure was preceded by a previous daily …

The Associated Press reports: Nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona. As case numbers escalated, alarmed ministers in France, and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Paris cancelled its New Year’s Eve fireworks. Denmark closed theaters, concert …

Reuters reports: France’s parliament voted on Tuesday to ban so-called conversion therapy, joining a handful of countries that have taken steps to outlaw practices that seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the French legislation, people offering LGBT+ conversion therapy could be jailed for up to two years and fined 30,000 euros ($33,810), with even tougher …

The Hill reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that Americans avoid travel to France, Jordan and Portugal and several other countries because of a “very high level of COVID-19” within their borders. The CDC on Monday also issued Level 4: Do Not Travel advisories for Tanzania, Liechtenstein, Cyprus and Andorra. The agency noted, however, that …

Religion News Service reports: Pope Francis said Monday he accepted the resignation of the archbishop of Paris because the monsignor could no longer govern effectively thanks to the “gossip” about his relationship with a woman a decade ago. Francis was asked en route home from Greece about the surprise decision, which came only days after Archbishop Michel Aupetit put his …

Reuters reports: Far-right French pundit Eric Zemmour announced his candidacy for president on Tuesday with a video in which, to ominous music and footage of street violence, he said he wanted to save France from decadence and minorities that “oppress the majority”. His declaration came hours before the conservative Les Républicains hold their final TV debate ahead of a congress …

Reuters reports: France is at the beginning of a fifth wave of the coronavirus epidemic, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday. “Several neighboring countries are already in a fifth wave of the COVID epidemic, what we are experiencing in France clearly looks like the beginning of a fifth wave,” Veran said on TF1 television, adding the circulation of the …

The Associated Press reports: France’s Catholic Church announced on Monday that it would financially compensate sex abuse victims by selling property assets or taking out a loan if needed. French bishops said in a written statement they will set up an “independent, national body” tasked with addressing compensation issues. They committed to allocating money to a specific fund “in order …

The BBC reports: French President Emmanuel Macron has said Australia’s PM Scott Morrison lied to him about a scrapped submarine deal. Asked whether he thinks Mr Morrison was untruthful, the president replied: “I don’t think, I know.” Mr Macron was furious after Australia cancelled a $37bn (£27bn) deal to build 12 submarines, and instead negotiated a new defence pact with …

Reuters reports: Britain gave France 48 hours on Monday to back down in a fishing row that threatens to spiral into a wider trade dispute between two of Europe’s biggest economies or face tortuous legal action under the Brexit trade deal. Post-Brexit bickering over fish culminated last Wednesday in the French seizure of a British scallop dredger, the Cornelis Gert …

The Associated Press reports: A former politician who called for the overthrow of the French government has been charged with terrorism in connection with what authorities have said was an extreme-right plot to attack vaccination centers, a masonic lodge and other targets. Rémy Daillet-Wiedemann was already accused of masterminding the international QAnon-style kidnapping of a girl on behalf of the …

The Guardian reports: Catholic priests must report all child sexual abuse allegations to police, including if they hear about it in the secrecy of the confession box, the French interior minister has said after reprimanding France’s top bishop for claiming that the secrecy of the Catholic confessional was “above the laws of the Republic”. France is reeling from the publication …

Politico Europe reports: France is to use its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU to launch a global campaign to abolish the death penalty, President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday. In a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France, Macron said Paris would host a summit in 2022 to press for an …

Agence France-Presse reports: A poll in France suggested on Wednesday for the first time that far-right pundit Eric Zemmour would qualify for the second round of next year’s presidential election and eclipse traditional far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Some 17-18 percent of voters told Harris Interactive polling they would vote for Zemmour in the first round, compared with 15-16 percent …