News : France24

French Prime Minister François Bayrou is fighting allegations that he ignored reports of the widespread sexual abuse of minors at a Catholic boarding school in southwestern Béarn, his political bastion for several decades, in a case that has weakened his

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Top Paris hotel pastry chef creates incredible cakes for Valentine's Day

France • 11:27 AM

1 min

February 14 is a day when love is celebrated around the world. To honour the romantic occasion, we have the pleasure of speaking to Nicolas Guercio, pastry chef at the prestigious Lutetia hotel in Paris, who has created some incredible cakes for lovers i

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Sexual abuse claims at Catholic school put French PM Bayrou on the defensive

France • 9:18 AM

1 min

French opposition politicians have asked Prime Minister François Bayrou to clearly explain if he was unaware of claims of violence and rape of minors committed at a Catholic school while he was France's education minister. Bayrou, whose children attended

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Grenade thrown into bar in French city of Grenoble injures 15

France • 12:41 AM

1 min

Fifteen people were injured in an explosion after a grenade was thrown into a bar in France's southeastern city of Grenoble, French officials said Thursday. French authorities said they did not believe the incident to be terror-related.

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Tech titans and government leaders gather in Paris for landmark AI summit

France • 5:39 AM

1 min

Political and tech leaders convene at the Grand Palais in Paris on Monday for a summit on artificial intelligence co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The goals of the two-day event are to promote ethics

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France's Violette Dorange becomes youngest sailor to complete Vendee Globe race at 23

France • 3:46 PM

1 min

France's Violette Dorange made history on Sunday by becoming the youngest skipper to complete the Vendee Globe solo round-the-world yacht race. Placing 25th, the 23-year-old finished the race in 90 days and broke a record set in 2016 by the previous youn

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Macron announces €100 billion investment in AI with deepfake video blitz

France • 1:43 PM

1 min

France will see €109 billion ($113 billion) invested in AI projects, President Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday, calling it a game-changer ahead of a global AI summit in Paris. To promote the event, he posted AI-generated fake videos of himself in variou

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Paris AI Summit: Canadian fund Brookfield to invest €20 billion in France

France • 6:49 AM

1 min

As Paris prepares to host a global artificial intelligence (AI) summit next week, Canadian fund Brookfield is set to invest €20 billion ($21 billion) by 2030 to help build data centres in France, according to a French media report.

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Last-minute try gives England dramatic Six Nations win over France at Twickenham

France • 7:03 PM

1 min

Elliot Daly’s last-minute try punished the French for an extraordinary catalogue of handling errors as England edged France 26-25 in their Six Nations match at Twickenham on Saturday.

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Locked out of decent housing, disabled residents in France struggle for dignity

France • 5:03 PM

1 min

For people with disabilities in France, finding accessible housing is particularly challenging. From emergency shelters unfit for mobility needs to social housing failing wheelchair users, the housing crisis hits disabled residents hardest and pushes man

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Paris prosecutors open probe into Musk's X over alleged algorithmic distortions

France • 4:04 PM

1 min

Prosecutors in Paris launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X social media for alleged algorithmic distortions, Franceino reported on Friday, citing the prosecutor's office. The probe was opened after a centrist French MP reported on January 12 that

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What does it mean to be French? PM Bayrou calls for a national debate

France • 11:00 AM

1 min

French Prime Minister François Bayrou on Friday called for a wider debate on the issue of French identity after his justice minister said that the constitution should be changed to end birthright citizenship. A debate on the sensitive issue of what it me

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French court orders city of Biarritz to rename 'La Négresse' neighbourhood

France • 2:35 PM

1 min

The seaside resort city of Biarritz has been ordered to rename the historic district of La Négresse, which translates as "negro woman", following legal action by activists fighting the legacies of slavery and colonialism.

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French parliament adopts 2025 budget after months of political turmoil

France • 11:57 AM

1 min

The French parliament on Thursday finally adopted the state's 2025 budget following a tumultuous months-long process that saw the previous government toppled and the current administration survive multiple no-confidence votes.

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French defence minister says first Mirage 2000 fighter jets delivered to Ukraine

France • 10:51 AM

1 min

The French air force has transferred the first of the promised Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine, Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Thursday. President Emmanuel Macron announced in June that France would transfer the aircraft to Ukraine and

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Tech experts debate threats, promise of AI ahead of global summit in Paris

France • 8:35 AM

1 min

Scientists began discussing the future impacts and threats of artificial intelligence (AI) in Paris on Thursday ahead of a global summit aimed at finding common ground on the rapidly evolving technology.

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French Prime Minister Bayrou survives two no-confidence votes in parliament

France • 3:03 AM

1 min

French Prime Minister François Bayrou's minority government survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Wednesday, after the head of the far-right National Rally said he would not support the motion backed by opposition parties on the le

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French PM Bayrou uses special constitutional powers to force 2025 budget through parliament

France • 10:41 AM

1 min

French Prime Minister François Bayrou used special executive powers on Monday to force his government’s 2025 budget through parliament without a vote. France's hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party has said it will put forward a no-confidence motion which

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French filmmaker Ruggia found guilty of assaulting actress Haenel when she was a child

France • 12:44 AM

1 min

A French court on Monday found film director Christophe Ruggia guilty of sexually assaulting actress Adèle Haenel when she was a child in what is seen as a #MeToo landmark trial in France.

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French PM Bayrou says he will force through contentious budget without a vote

France • 6:59 AM

1 min

French Prime Minister François Bayrou has warned that he will use special executive powers to force his government’s contentious 2025 budget through parliament without a vote – a move that is certain to trigger a no-confidence motion.

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Ex-Charlie Hebdo artist 'Luz' wins comic book of the year at France's Angoulême festival

France • 10:07 PM

1 min

A graphic novel based on the true story of an Expressionist painting looted from a Jewish owner by the Nazis won the top prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in southwest France on Saturday. "Deux Filles Nues" (Two Naked Girls) beat out 4

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French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen's grave vandalised three weeks after his death

France • 2:44 PM

1 min

The grave of Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France's far-right National Front party – now called the National Rally (RN) – was vandalised with a sledgehammer in the cemetery of La Trinité-sur-Mer, his family said Friday. Le Pen was a controversial figure

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Olympic cauldron will return to Paris skies every summer until the 2028 LA Games

France • 2:19 PM

1 min

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Friday that the Olympic balloon and cauldron that became an icon of the Paris Games is set to return to the capital every summer until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. Macron said the balloon would return to the s

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‘The flood of the century’: How well prepared is Paris for a natural disaster?

France • 12:51 AM

1 min

It has been more than 100 years since Paris’s last great flood, meaning the city is well overdue another mammoth deluge that authorities predict could leave hundreds of thousands of people without water or electricity. How prepared is the French capital

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France wins culinary Olympics with top prize in Bocuse d'Or competition

France • 2:48 PM

1 min

France has won the top prize in the prestigious Bocuse d'Or cooking competition, beating 23 other countries including Denmark and Sweden. Receiving first place was particularly sweet for 28-year-old chef Paul Marcon, as his father also won the award 30 y

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'A source of French pride'? Louvre museum's poor conditions prompt outcry

France • 11:58 AM

1 min

The director of the Louvre last week sent a memo to France’s culture minister detailing the dilapidated state of the Paris museum, spurring President Emmanuel Macron to organise a visit on Tuesday. Union members say up until now their complaints about th

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Bocuse d'Or: French chefs edge Denmark to win 'culinary Olympics'

France • 8:05 AM

1 min

A French team led by 20-year-old chef Paul Marcon won the prestigious Bocuse d'Or culinary contest on Monday, edging title holders Denmark. The victory comes 30 years after Marcon's father Régis triumphed in what is sometimes referred to as the "culinary

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Price hike on non-EU visitors will fund Louvre's ‘renaissance’, Macron says

France • 6:45 AM

1 min

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a "new renaissance" for the Louvre on Tuesday, including a multi-million-euro revamp to be funded by a hike in ticket prices for non-EU visitors. Among the key changes will be the creation of a new entrance and

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Bocuse d'Or: French chefs defeat Danes to reclaim coveted culinary prize

France • 12:54 AM

1 min

A French team led by 20-year-old chef Paul Marcon won the prestigious Bocuse d'Or culinary contest on Monday, edging out title-holders Denmark. The victory comes 30 years after Marcon's father Régis triumphed in what is sometimes referred to as the "culi

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French PM Bayrou says Elon Musk is 'creating a threat to democracies'

France • 9:55 PM

1 min

French Prime Minister François Bayrou on Monday said that billionaire entrepreneur and owner of social media platform X Elon Musk creates a menace to democracies. His comments about Musk came after last week's warning that France and Europe must stand fi

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Eighty years on, French deportee remembers horror of Auschwitz and difficult return home

France • 3:29 PM

1 min

On January 27, 1945, the French population had yet to grasp the full horror of the Holocaust. After the Soviet army finally liberated Auschwitz and the allies advanced on the Western front, the first survivors began to trickle back to their home countrie

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When Paris's Hotel Lutetia hosted concentration camp survivors

France • 2:48 PM

1 min

Eighty years ago, on January 27, 1945, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp was liberated by Soviet troops. During the following weeks and months, French survivors of the camps made their way home. A third of them passed through th

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Fire ravages Paris district town hall, leaving spire 'in danger of collapsing'

France • 2:39 PM

1 min

A fire in Paris’s 12th district town hall broke out overnight from Sunday to Monday, ravaging the roof and bell tower of the 19th-century building. Paris police prefect Laurent Nunez warned the 36-metre spire was ‘in danger of collapsing’ after firefight

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Auschwitz liberation, 80 years on: French survivors remember horror

France • 2:25 PM

1 min

This Monday marks 80 years since the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp was liberated by Soviet forces. In this edition of Entre Nous we speak to FRANCE 24 senior reporter Claire Paccalin, who has filmed a series of reports on French

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Controversial West African activist Kemi Seba detained in Paris

France • 2:17 PM

1 min

Kemi Seba, a controversial African activist known for his virulent anti-Western stance, has been arrested in Paris, a source close to the case told AFP Tuesday.

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Top contemporary French artist Christian Boltanski dies aged 76

France • 6:44 PM

1 min

Christian Boltanski, one of France's top contemporary artists whose multimedia works probed the meaning of mortality and memory, has died aged 76, a former museum director told AFP on Sunday.

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France’s new health pass rules raise questions as many scramble to adapt

France • 4:03 PM

1 min

While the extension of France’s health pass and other new anti-Covid 19 measures announced by President Emmanuel Macron Monday night are yet to be hammered out in detail, what’s certain is that a full-throttled return to a normal life of frequenting café

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In search for French heroes, Macron blunders – again

France • 9:05 PM

1 min

France’s embattled leader saw a week of World War I commemorations as a chance to reconnect with the French and highlight the danger of nationalism. Instead, his comments about Marshal Pétain gave further evidence of his tendency to shock and dismay.

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France makes 323 arrests since start of Euro 2016 championship

France • 11:37 AM

1 min

French police have made 323 arrests since the start of the European Championships, the interior ministry said on Thursday, as Europe's showcase football event continues to be marred by violence.

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‘France is your homeland’, Hollande tells French Jews

France • 11:42 AM

1 min

French President François Hollande announced tough new measures to combat anti-Semitism on Tuesday as he marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp with a visit to Paris's Holocaust memorial.

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World leaders arrive in France for D-Day celebrations

France • 8:43 AM

1 min

Seventy years after the first Allied planes set off for the World War II invasion of Normandy, world leaders descended on France Thursday to remember the dead and commemorate D-Day in two days of memorial celebrations.

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Daughter loses legal case in bitter Asterix family feud

France • 6:09 PM

1 min

A long-running family feud between Asterix co-creator Albert Uderzo and his daughter took a new twist on Tuesday after judges dismissed a claim by Sylvie Uderzo that her father was mentally frail and being exploited.

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Sarkozy’s legal woes roll on despite court ruling

France • 11:23 AM

1 min

A probe into claims Nicolas Sarkozy received illegal funding for his successful 2007 presidential campaign has been dropped. But as he considers a political comeback, several other cases threaten serious damage to his reputation.

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French court drops probe into Sarkozy campaign cash

France • 11:03 AM

1 min

A French court on Monday dropped a formal investigation into illegal campaign financing by former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who had been under investigation since March for allegedly accepting funds from L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

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Sarkozy ensnared in Bettencourt scandal

France • 8:18 AM

1 min

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy will remain under formal investigation in a case involving suspected illegal campaign donations by France’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, after judges dismissed a motion to throw out a key medical report.

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US consultant admits role in France's 'Karachi affair'

France • 12:24 AM

1 min

A US political consultant has admitted being paid by an intermediary in 1994 arms sales for advising the campaign of French presidential hopeful Édouard Balladur. The admission may shed new light on the scandal known as the “Karachi affair”.

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African troops march with French for Bastille Day

France • 7:26 AM

1 min

The famed military parade for Bastille Day on Paris’s Champs-Elysées Sunday featured African troops who assisted France in its Mali operation against Islamist rebels. However, some have criticised the African presence as a sign of neo-colonial ties.

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French conservatives defeat far right in tight by-election

France • 6:35 PM

1 min

France’s conservative UMP party narrowly defeated the far-right National Front in a by-election on Sunday, with candidate Jean-Louis Costes (pictured) winning the seat vacated by disgraced Socialist MP Jérôme Cahuzac following a tax evasion scandal.

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French far-right shames Socialists in by-election

France • 6:45 AM

1 min

The far-right National Front has moved on to the second round of a parliamentary by-election to replace disgraced former MP Jérôme Cahuzac. The victory is an embarrassing blow to the Socialist government of President François Hollande.

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French ministers disclose personal wealth for first time

France • 6:50 AM

1 min

French authorities published the personal wealth of ministers on the government website on Monday in a bid to restore public confidence following a tax-evasion scandal which led to the resignation of former budget minister Jérôme Cahuzac.

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Record number of women and minorities in new French parliament

France • 12:01 AM

1 min

With more women and members of foreign descent than any previous National Assembly, France's newly-elected parliament has moved a step closer to mirroring French society, even as ethnic-minority groups demand more diversity in politics.

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Greens secure ‘historic’ gains in French parliamentary poll

France • 11:35 AM

1 min

France’s Green party won 17 seats in the country’s general election Sunday, an unprecedented score that makes it prominent enough to form its own parliamentary group, giving it more clout in political decision-making.

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Socialists free to push through reform agenda

France • 10:33 AM

1 min

The resounding Socialist Party victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections will allow new French President François Hollande to follow through with promised economic reforms to stimulate growth across Europe, a senior minister said Monday.

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'Lust’ is not a crime, say Strauss-Kahn lawyers

France • 8:17 PM

1 min

Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers have said their client, placed under formal investigation Monday for alleged involvement in a prostitution ring, was being hounded for “the offence of lust” which is “not forbidden in the penal code”.

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DSK under investigation in prostitution inquiry

France • 8:28 PM

1 min

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF and a prominent French Socialist, has been placed under formal investigation for his alleged involvement in a prostitution ring, his lawyer said Monday.

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Who will be France’s next first lady, or gentleman?

France • 10:47 AM

1 min

A singer, a journalist, a housewife or a plasterer’s son: who will move into the Elysée Palace in May, and can candidates count on their partners to help them get there? FRANCE 24 takes a look at who might be France’s next first lady… or gentleman.

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New poll gives Sarkozy first round election lead

France • 6:20 AM

1 min

An opinion poll for the first time Tuesday put French President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of Socialist rival François Hollande for the April 22 first round of presidential elections but showed Hollande would win a run-off vote on May 6.

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Socialist candidate drums up support in French tropics

France • 2:31 PM

1 min

Socialist presidential hopeful Francois Hollande and President Nicolas Sarkozy will both visit French overseas regions Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana in upcoming weeks, with Hollande kicking off the charm offensive first.

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Roma expulsion orders called into question by lawyers

France • 12:43 AM

1 min

In the Parisian suburb of Montreuil, 14 Roma men were ordered to leave French territory after a police roundup in August. Lawyers say their case proves the government is behind a discriminatory and illegal policy of expulsions.

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Left-leaning parties form alliance to keep lead in second round

France • 6:34 PM

1 min

Ahead of a March 21 run-off vote, France’s Socialists allied with the Greens and other left leaning parties in a deal struck on Tuesday following the Socialists’ first-place showing in round one of regional elections.

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