Protesters clashed with police in France on Saturday as demonstrations over living costs and public services entered a fourth consecutive weekend and drew students, trade unions and members of the revived “Yellow Vest” movement onto the streets. The country’s Interior Ministry counted 146,000 demonstrators nationwide, including 46,000 in Paris. A youth union alliance put attendance…
Tens of thousands of government workers, teachers, transport employees and other union workers in France walked off the job Thursday to take part in the latest round of massive economic protests that have roiled the European nation, expressing their frustration with low wages and the high cost of living. What was billed as a national…
A cyberattack on several blood banks tried to raise temperatures to extremely high levels but was thwarted before it could do any damage to blood products or samples, French authorities said. The incident comes after supermarkets in a number of European countries reported that their fridges and freezers warmed up after they were remotely taken…
For the past few weeks, images of burning buildings and devastated shopping streets have dominated international media coverage of France. “France is burning”, “France in turmoil”, “Chaos in France”, the headlines have declared, focusing on the violent element of an otherwise peaceful student movement demanding better conditions for education. To understand why this has happened…
Earlier, a peaceful protester in Paris who gave her name as Zelie told the BBC people had taken to the streets because they were “really frustrated” and had been “suffering a lot” since Macron came to office. “They keep us quiet. They take our money, they tax us a lot and we can’t say anything….
Nearly 1,000 people were arrested in nationwide protests in France, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Saturday, after demonstrations over the high cost of living and the country’s education system earlier in the day remained largely peaceful. Nuñez said the number of arrests is expected to rise significantly. He said marches “passed off well” in cities,…
Fifteen years after France promised a new relationship with Africa, Paris is still struggling to reconcile its rejection of colonial-era interference with its desire to retain influence on the continent. RFI Africa specialist Christophe Boisbouvier argues in a new book that France can still build a partnership of equals – based on respect rather than…
Targeted curfews across France contributed to a quiet night following a weekend of riots and looting across the country, the Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said. Curfews were introduced across parts of central Paris, including Place de la République, where protesters had gathered over the weekend, and the Les Halles shopping area. Other measures restricting…
France is “putting the house in order” and is capable of slashing its burdensome budget deficit, despite the political turmoil facing the country, the head of the country’s central bank insists. The country is currently subject to the EU’s excessive deficit procedure, with the bloc recommending Paris bring its national deficit closer to 3% of…
France’s national health agency has recorded more than 161 cases of West Nile virus and five deaths since its annual seasonal surveillance began on 1 May. Transmitted to humans by mosquitos, which contract it from birds, the virus is progressing rapidly across Europe. Experts say global warming is fostering the spread of such tropical diseases….
