Latest France News
Notre Dame's restoration surplus of nearly $150M will be used for future preservation
PARIS (AP) — More than five years after the devastating fire ravaged Notre Dame, igniting nearly $1 billion in pledged donations within days, restoration chief Philippe Jost says €140 million (around $148 million) still remains from the funds as the cathedral prepares to reopen next month. ...
French prosecutors seek a 2-year prison sentence and ineligibility period against Marine Le Pen
PARIS (AP) — Paris prosecutors on Wednesday requested a 2-year prison sentence for far-right leader Marine Le Pen and an additional 5-year period of ineligibility to run for office, in a trial over the suspected embezzlement of European Parliament funds where her ability to participate in the...
French farmers protest EU-Mercosur deal that will increase South American imports
PARIS (AP) — French farmers protested Tuesday against a trade deal that would increase agricultural imports from South America, saying it hurt their livelihoods. The European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc, composed of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, reached...
Olympic medalist withdraws from French boxing elections citing racist and sexist attacks
PARIS (AP) — Sarah Ourahmoune, a silver medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games, has withdrawn her bid to become president of the French boxing federation, saying she has been the target of vicious racist and sexist attacks. In an open letter published this week, Ourahmoune said she...
France summons Israeli ambassador over diplomatic incident in Jerusalem
PARIS (AP) — France's Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's ambassador on Tuesday following an incident involving Israeli security forces during a visit last week by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to Jerusalem. The French ministry condemned the presence of armed Israeli...
France condemns a spat between Israeli police and French consulate staff at a Jerusalem church
JERUSALEM (AP) — Armed Israeli police forced their way into a French-owned church compound in the contested city of Jerusalem on Thursday, the French foreign ministry said, briefly detaining two consulate employees and prompting the top French diplomat to abandon his planned visit to the site. ...
Notre Dame marks arrival of Paris Olympics’ iconic trackside bell as cathedral reopening nears
PARIS (AP) — Paris’s Notre Dame cathedral, whose historic bells were silenced following 2019’s devastating fire, will soon echo again with fresh chimes. On Thursday, the Gothic landmark took delivery of three new bells, including one that was used in the city’s Stade de...
French and Dutch investigators raid Netflix offices in probe of suspected financial wrongdoing
PARIS (AP) — Prosecutors and police investigators who specialize in fighting fraud and corruption raided Netflix offices in France and the Netherlands on Tuesday, in a probe of suspected financial wrongdoing, judicial officials said. French and Dutch authorities have been working...
French court convicts 18 in a major trial that casts light on the deadly migrant-smuggling trade
LILLE, France (AP) — A French court found 18 people guilty Tuesday in a major migrant-smuggling trial that shed light on the lucrative but often deadly clandestine business of transporting people on flimsy boats across the perilous sea from France to the U.K. The defendants were...
Trial opens in France in the beheading of a teacher over prophet cartoons
PARIS (AP) — The trial of eight people in Paris on terrorism charges started on Monday over the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, who was killed by an Islamic extremist after showing caricatures of Islam's prophet to his middle school students for a lesson on freedom of expression. ...
