Beijing, China | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron toured Beijing’s sprawling Forbidden City on Tuesday before a day of business deals and talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as the two rising global leaders seek closer ties. Macron, who has positioned himself as the leading voice of the European …
Read More »Outrage after French mayor scraps pork-free school meals
Beaucaire, France | AFP | A far right local authority in southern France on Monday scrapped pork-free school meals, a move branded “anti-Muslim” or “anti-Jewish” by an equality minister. Julien Sanchez, the National Front mayor of Beaucaire, a town south of Avignon, abolished the scheme, brought in by his predecessor, …
Read More »Apple takes French tax activists to court over store protest
Paris, France | AFP | Apple has filed a lawsuit against the Attac activist group after about 100 of its supporters occupied the tech giant’s flagship store in Paris last month, protesting alleged “wide-scale tax evasion” by the firm. An Apple spokesman told AFP on Thursday that while it respected …
Read More »Make reforms while sun shines on world economy: Lagarde
Paris, France | AFP | International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has urged France and other countries to push through reforms “while the sun is shining” on the global economy. In an interview with France’s Le Journal du Dimanche published Sunday Lagarde said the strength of the global economic recovery …
Read More »Macron under fire over plan to tighten joblessness monitoring
Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron came under fire Wednesday over his policy on jobless benefits after a press leak pointed to plans to tighten monitoring of people on the dole. The investigative weekly Canard Enchaine, citing an internal memo, said those receiving jobless benefits would be …
Read More »Macron in Niger says Sahel jihadist fight to continue in 2018
Niamey, Niger | AFP | President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Niger late Friday for a morale-boosting visit to France’s Barkhane anti-jihadist force and told troops the fight against extremists in the region would continue in 2018. Former colonial power France has been leading regional counterterrorism efforts in West Africa’s Sahel region, …
Read More »Macron in Niger for Christmas dinner with French troops
Niamey, Niger | AFP | President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Niger late Friday for a morale-boosting trip that will see him have Christmas dinner with some members of France’s 4,000-strong Barkhane anti-jihadist force. Former colonial power France has been leading regional counterterrorism efforts in West Africa’s Sahel region, but is …
Read More »France named The Economist’s country of the year
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Economist named France as its country of the year on Thursday, saying new President Emmanuel Macron had upset the odds to strike a victory for open societies and reform. The London-based weekly news magazine said the battle between open and closed visions of society …
Read More »France takes in first refugees screened in Africa
Paris, France | AFP | France on Monday accepted a first group of 19 refugees identified in Africa under an overhauled asylum policy that will also see it expel thousands of economic migrants. While it has drawn little public outcry in France, the policy faces stiff opposition from the left …
Read More »France orders WhatsApp to seek permission for data transfer
Paris, France | AFP | France’s data protection agency on Monday told messaging app WhatsApp it needs to obtain users’ permission to transfer some information to its parent company Facebook and gave it a month to comply. “Should WhatsApp fail to comply with the formal notice within the specified timescale” the …
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