Paris, France | AFP | Pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron takes on far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the second-round run-off of France’s presidential election on Sunday. – Why is it important? – France is the eurozone’s second-biggest economy as well as a global military and diplomatic heavyweight, with veto power as …
Read More »Macron team blasts ‘massive hacking attack’ after document release
Paris, France | AFP | The campaign team of French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron on Friday blasted a “massive and coordinated hacking attack” after internal documents including emails and accounting papers were released online. “The files circulating were obtained several weeks ago due to the hacking of the personal and professional …
Read More »Security jitters as campaigning for French election ends
Paris, France | AFP | French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen wrapped up campaigning Friday ahead of this weekend’s election as security concerns emerged again following the arrest of a suspected extremist. Both centrist Macron and far-right Le Pen visited cathedrals and gave interviews as they sought …
Read More »China more interested in Macron’s marriage than his politics
Beijing, China | AFP | China is closely following France’s presidential election, but web users appear less interested in the politics than the unusual marriage between moderate candidate Emmanuel Macron and his former teacher. Comparisons with the characters of a popular Chinese television drama called “In the Name of the People” …
Read More »Macron age gap ‘unusual’ to French, titillates abroad
Paris, France | AFP | Brigitte Macron, as the 64-year-old wife of the man tipped to become France’s youngest-ever president, is getting used to being in the media spotlight. But the elegant blonde is also having to endure unwelcome scrutiny from a foreign press fascinated by the age gap between …
Read More »Russian hackers ‘targeted Macron campaign’
Paris, France | AFP | French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron’s political campaign was targeted by a group of Russian hackers last month, according to a report by a cybersecurity research group on Tuesday. The Pawn Storm group, which has been linked to several high-profile attacks in the West, used “phishing” …
Read More »Euro surges as France’s Macron set for presidential win
Hong Kong, China | AFP | The euro and most stock markets surged Monday after moderate candidate Emmanuel Macron won the first round of France’s presidential election and looked set to triumph in the run-off against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen next month. Investors globally had been fearful that a …
Read More »French election: what you need to know
Paris, France | AFP | Nearly 47 million French voters go to the polls on Sunday in the first round of the country’s presidential election. – Why is it important? – France is the EU’s second-biggest economy and also one of the world’s biggest military and diplomatic powers. With two …
Read More »