France

Bridget Phillipson calls 2.5% target ‘ambitious’ days before PM meets with Donald Trump in WashingtonKeir Starmer is unlikely to set out a plan this week for when the UK will increase its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, a cabinet minister has indicated.The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the target was ambitious, despite Labour previously […]

French police have arrested 10 people suspected of aiding a convict caught in Romania nine months after being freed in an ambush in which two prison officers were killed, a prosecutor said Sunday.

From the César film awards to 'secure' prescriptions in France and French President Emmanuel Macron's big trip to Washington, here's what is happening in France this week.

What’s in the diary for March 2025, everything you need to know about mutuelles, language test fears, jobs and side hustles, the mysteries of the Livret A, and how you know Spring has arrived - here's the latest must-read articles for life in France.

A man who went on a stabbing rampage in France, killing one and wounding several others in what President Emmanuel Macron called an "Islamist terrorist act", was on a terrorism watchlist and subject to deportation orders, according to authorities.

Macron says knife attack is ‘without any doubt an act of Islamist terrorism’A 69-year-old man who intervened when a suspected terrorist attacked police officers with a knife shouting “Allahu Akbar” has died in eastern France.Two police officers were also seriously injured in the suspected Islamist terrorist act, which took place in the city of […]

Joël Le Scouarnec’s ‘black books’ of handwritten notes in which alleged sexual abuse was recorded are at the heart of case against himWhen two gendarmes knocked on her door in 2019, Marie had no idea that she was about to find herself at the dark heart of one of the world’s biggest child abuse cases.The French mother of three, now 38, was shocked […]

France's annual Agriculture Show has become a hotbed of protest by farmers, exasperated by low produce prices, heavy regulations and global competition, against the government they say doesn't care for them enough.

France is still trying to assemble a "blocking minority" within the European Union to prevent a trade deal with four South American countries from coming into force, President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday.

A French court on Friday fined a preschool teacher for having beaten a three-year-old child in class, a case that sparked nationwide anger and a shocked response from the then-education minister.

Body of man, 23, was discovered on Monday near the Avoriaz ski resortA British skier has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff near the Avoriaz ski resort in the French Alps, local officials have confirmed.The body of the 23-year-old man, who has not yet been formally identified, was found on Monday at the bottom of a cliff near the town of Morzine, in […]

The French cognac industry said Friday it was losing €50 million per month since the imposition of antidumping duties by China and appealed for government help.

A 17-year-old suspected of having lobbed a grenade into a crowded bar in the southeastern French city of Grenoble has been arrested and is in police custody, a prosecutor told AFP on Friday.

From Emmanuel Macron's push for a European defence force to the French Senate's obsession with headscarves, via signs of spring and the start of the pétanque season, Inside France is our weekly round-up of news and talking points in France.

French family behind project visited Kremlin in 2014 to discuss building ‘Tsarland’ in annexed CrimeaWith its spectacular shows featuring Viking longboats, Roman charioteers and sword-wielding knights who perform death-defying stunts, Puy du Fou in France is consistently ranked among the world’s best theme parks. Each performance of its centrepiece […]

France's far-right leader Jordan Bardella said Friday he had cancelled his speech at a right-wing meeting in Washington after a "gesture alluding to Nazi ideology" by conservative firebrand Steve Bannon.

National Rally’s Jordan Barella calls off address as Anti-Defamation League says it is concerned but ‘not surprised’The French far-right leader Jordan Bardella on Friday morning cancelled a scheduled speech at the US Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, after Donald Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon flashed a […]

Beguiling French actor who appeared in films such as Belle de Jour and El Cid, but whose true love was the stageScreen and stage were not equal suitors for the affections of the French actor Geneviève Page, who once described working in cinema as a case of coitus interruptus. “You start a scene, you rehearse it, you’re ready. Then they do the sound and […]

A growing number of services in France are now pushing 'France Identité' as a way to make your admin smoother, but this comes with a very important caveat for foreigners.

A planned two percent tax on the very wealthiest members of society in France has passed its first reading in the National Assembly – but what is it, and how likely is it to become law?

Winnings as yet unclaimed by thieves in Toulouse who bought scratchcard amid legal debate over who gets payoutTwo homeless men who bought a winning lottery scratchcard with a stolen credit card have been offered a potentially lifechanging deal by their victim: a share of the €500,000 jackpot if they can produce the ticket.The situation has left legal […]

A judicial investigation into charges of rape and sexual assault at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school in southwestern France was opened against a former school employee Friday. French PM François Bayrou, whose children attended the school, has come under increasing scrutiny after a former teacher accused him and his wife of having turned a blind eye to […]

Partnership comes as London station looks at ways to almost triple passenger numbersSt Pancras railway station in London and the Channel tunnel operator have agreed to work together to open up more trains from Britain to France, and routes to Germany and Switzerland.The agreement is the latest sign of growing momentum for new passenger rail links from […]

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France would not be sending troops to Ukraine "tomorrow" but reiterated that France could provide security guarantees to the war-torn nation after a ceasefire. Macron will be meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Jean-Noël Barrot tells G20 to prioritise those who support the law rather than power by forceEurope live – latest updatesEuropean powers have made a plea at the G20 in South Africa to countries in the global south that they show unambivalent support for the international rules-based order, including the sovereignty of Ukraine.Writing in the Guardian, the […]