France

Search for dozens feared missing after deadly migrant shipwrecks off Italy

By Gael BRANCHEREAU, Ella IDE The Italian coastguard searched off southern Italy Monday for survivors or the bodies of dozens of migrants feared missing, after two shipwrecks left 11 people dead. With up to 60 migrants potentially lost at sea, the coastguard said it has been looking for "possible missing persons" since late Sunday, "following the shipwreck of a sailing boat with migrants on board, presumably departing […]

June 17, 2024 33

Africa

France reducing military presence in West, Central Africa to 600 troops: sources

By Daphné BENOIT France is planning to reduce its military presence in West and Central Africa to around 600 troops in line with President Emmanuel Macron's plans to limit the French military footprint in the region, three sources told AFP. In February 2023, Macron announced "noticeable reduction" of French troop presence in Africa, as anti-French sentiment is running high in some former colonies and countries […]

June 17, 2024 66

World

Snap elections in France: a political scientist lays out what’s at stake

By Julien Robin, Université de Montréal Speaking at a surprise address to the nation on Sunday evening, French president Emmanuel Macron told French citizens he had “decided to give [them] back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote”. These words, pronounced in reaction to the historic surge of the far-right National Rally at the European elections, triggered the dissolution of France’s […]

June 11, 2024 14

World

Green parties suffer EU poll drubbing

By Sam Reeves Green parties suffered major losses in the EU elections, particularly in France and Germany, hit by growing discontent at the bloc's environmental push and by voters' shifting priorities. They had notched up their best ever results at the last European Parliament polls five years ago, which were accompanied by mass rallies over climate change. But the parties appeared to be the biggest losers […]

June 10, 2024 17

World

Macron urges French to make ‘right choice’ in poll gamble

By Alice Hackman and Stuart Williams President Emmanuel Macron said Monday he was confident the French would make the "right choice" in snap elections he called after the far right crushed his centrist alliance in Sunday's EU ballot. His surprise move came after mainstream centrist parties kept an overall majority in the European Parliament in Sunday's poll, but the far right notched up a string of […]

June 10, 2024 23

World

EU parliament election sees shaken centre hold – but far right now has chances to show its strength

By Amelia Hadfield, University of Surrey After the four-day, 27-state democratic marathon that is the European parliamentary election, a picture has emerged of a fragile centre just holding amid a shift to the right that carries a significant potential to shape the near future of the EU, despite having fallen short of producing the earthquake some predicted. The big shock came in France, with […]

June 10, 2024 12

World

Emmanuel Macron calls French Election

Emmanuel Macron has called a snap election in France in response to a victory for the right in European polls. President Macron's dissolved Parliament and called national elections for 30th June and 7th July, as Ross Cullen reports from Paris.

June 10, 2024 7

World

Biden Macron plan to use frozen Russian funds to help Ukraine

The United States and France have come up with a plan to use profits generated by sanctioned Russian assets to help Ukraine. President Biden has been in France this week for D-Day commemorations which were also attended by Ukraine's leader Vlodymyr Zelensky. Our US Correspondent Jagruti Dave has more.

June 10, 2024 18

World

Zelensky urges West to do more for ‘fair peace’ after D-Day

By Stuart Williams and Aurelia End President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday urged the West to do more to achieve a fair peace as Ukraine battles the Russian invasion and expressed confidence that Kyiv would emerge victorious in the conflict. One day after Western leaders descended on northern France to mark the 80 year anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II, Zelensky addressed the […]

June 7, 2024 40