France

On Wednesday, hundreds of farmers travelled through the French capital Paris with their tractors. They argue against “restrictions” imposed on them, for example, in the use of pesticides. Following a ruling by the European Court of Justice, a government decision last month to ban the use of certain pesticides in beet cultivation led to the action. French farmers have also been complaining for months that they are faced with higher costs or that they want to be able to store water to irrigate their crops. The peasant protest went right through Paris, accompanied by the police. Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau has received a delegation of protesting farmers. He wants to discuss support with the beet sector on Thursday. It had been November 2019 since another demonstration of...

French President Emmanuel Macron says the presidential election is not worth a regime change. In an interview with radio station France Culture, Macron lashes out at the proposals of his rival Marine Le Pen, which he describes as contrary to the French constitution.   Next Sunday, the French will vote in the second round of the presidential elections. Just like five years ago, it is between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen of the radical right Rassemblement Nationale. "Mrs Le Pen's proposals to revise the constitution are not in line with that constitution, and that is a problem," said the French president, who is running for a second five-year term. "Others do that in other countries. For example, you can change the regime as you see fit in Hungary, but I don't think you can." Ma...

At least 7,200 police officers will be deployed in Paris over the weekend to prevent demonstrators with vehicles in a so-called freedom convoy from disrupting traffic. In addition, strict sanctions have been announced, such as high fines, prison sentences and years of driving license revocation.   Since Wednesday, opponents of the corona measures have been driving in trucks and other vehicles in parades to the capital. French media report that other grievances, such as the rise in energy prices and the rise in livelihoods in general, are also driving protesters to Paris. They often get a lot of acclaim along the routes. Authorities in Meaux, northeast of Paris, have banned a gathering of sympathizers in the city on Friday evening. Meaux is on the route of the freedom convoy from ea...

The only suspect alive in the bloody attacks in Paris in November 2015, Salah Abdeslam, testified at his trial that he had not killed or injured anyone at all. The 32-year-old Frenchman has been given the floor for the first time in the trial that started in September.   He stressed that he supported the Islamic State terrorist group but denied his alleged role as a terrorist. Instead, he said in this affair "to be vilified continuously". A group of terrorists carried out several attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis on November 13, 2015. 130 people were killed, including in the Bataclan concert hall. Abdeslam lived in Belgium, where he was arrested in March 2016 after a shooting in Forest. Belgium extradited him to France that same year. The prosecutors believe that Abdeslam participa...

Michel Barnier has officially declared himself a candidate in the French presidential elections. Barnier, known as a Brexit negotiator on behalf of the European Commission, wants to be the candidate of Les Républicains next year.   Barnier officially announced this on Thursday evening on the French channel TF1. He had been hinting at his participation in the elections for some time. Barnier (70) has a long political career and has held various ministerial posts in France since 1993, including under the presidencies of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy. In 2005, a year after taking office, he was fired as foreign minister after France said 'non' in the referendum on the European Constitution. In 2009 Barnier became European Commissioner for the Internal Market. Despite his prominen...

French healthcare staff will have until September 15 to be vaccinated. After that, anyone who has not had an injection risks a suspension without continued payment of the salary. The French parliament this morning approved the bill providing for this.   Personnel with medical contraindication do not need to be vaccinated. France is also tightening the corona measures with a so-called 'health pass', which regulates access to catering and public transport. Since Wednesday, visitors to French museums, cinemas and event venues have already had to show proof that they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus or tested negative. From August, all adults will be obliged to show a vaccination certificate via a so-called 'corona pass' in the catering industry, some shopping centres, and...

From Monday, there will no longer be an age limit for adults to receive a vaccine against the coronavirus in France.   Prime Minister Jean Castex announced this earlier this month. All residents of eighteen years of age or older are now eligible for a vaccine. The initiation of vaccination for all adults is two weeks earlier than expected. It was initially planned for mid-June, but France is more than ever on the right track, according to the prime minister. More than 25 million inhabitants of France have received their first corona pepper so far. This is almost 40 percent of the population. Nearly 12 million inhabitants, just over 20 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated. The corona situation across the country has improved significantly in recent weeks, allowing...