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☆ French ban of abaya robes in schools draws applause, criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We were worried by a strong increase in the (the number of pupils) wearing the abaya. Sophie Venetitay, from the SNES-FSU union, said it was key to focus on dialogue with pupils and families to ensure the ban did not mean children will be taken away from state-run schools to go to religious schools. In 2004, France banned headscarves in schools and passed a ban on full face veils in public in 2010, angering some in its five million-strong Muslim community. Abdallah Zekri, vice-chair of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), made a similar point, saying Attal's decision was misguided. "The abaya is not religious attire, it's a type of fashion," he told BFM TV.

Persons: Gabriel Attal, Eric Ciotti, Clementine Autain, France Insoumise, Didier Georges, Georges, Samuel Paty, Sophie Venetitay, Pap Ndiaye, Abdallah Zekri, BFM, Juliette Jabkhiro, Tassilo Hummel, Bertrand Boucey, Ingrid Melander, Nick Macfie Organizations: Reuters, FSU, French Council of, Thomson Locations: France, PARIS

☆ French minister Darmanin warns of risk of Marine Le Pen victory in next election
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Aug 25 (Reuters) - French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin - whom President Nicolas Sarkozy said would be a good future head of state - warned on Friday of the risk that far-right politician Marine Le Pen could win the next presidential election in 2027. Le Pen lost to President Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the 2022 election, echoing an identical outcome in the 2017 vote. "The fact of the matter is that in five years' time, a victory for Madame Le Pen is quite probable," Darmanin told La Voix du Nord, in an interview published in Friday's paper. "If we let a large part of the working class and middle class go over to Marine Le Pen, the professional classes will not support us in the second round. That is what could get Marine Le Pen elected in 2027, not questions on migration," he added.

Persons: Gerald Darmanin, Gonzalo Fuentes, Nicolas Sarkozy, Darmanin, Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron, Madame Le Pen, Bruno Le Maire, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Bertrand Boucey, Ingrid Melander Organizations: Overseas, REUTERS, Rights, RTL, du, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, French

☆ France to cut government spending by 4.2 bln eur next year - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, July 17 (Reuters) - The French government expects to spend 4.2 billion euros ($4.71 billion) less in 2024 as it scales back massive consumer subsidies on fuel and electricity, according to first budget estimates sent to parliamentarians. "For the first time in almost a decade, spending will decrease when compared to the previous year: 4.2 billion euros down", Budget Minister Gabriel Attal told paper Les Echos on Sunday. "We are ending the exceptional crisis spending and are making savings, to finance the green transition," Attal said. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has asked each ministry to identify cutbacks worth 5% of their budget. A finance ministry source said on Sunday that France's debt reduction would be achieved through various means, including savings in employment and housing policies.

Persons: Gabriel Attal, Emmanuel Macron's, Attal, Fitch, Bruno Le Maire, Tassilo Hummel, Bertrand Boucey, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Finance, Thomson Locations: France

☆ One person still missing after Paris blast - newspaper cites police
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesPARIS, June 22 (Reuters) - One person is still believed missing in the rubble after a blast ripped through a street near Paris' historic Latin Quarter, Le Parisien newspaper reported on Thursday, citing the Paris police department. The Paris prosecutor's office has said it is too early to establish the cause of Wednesday afternoon's blast, which destroyed the facade of a building housing the Paris American Academy design school popular with foreign students. At least 37 people were injured in the explosion, four of whom are fighting for their lives in hospital. Paris police and the Paris city council did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. Florence Berthout, mayor of the Paris district where the blast occurred, said the 12 students who should have been in the design school's classrooms when the blast occurred had fortunately gone to visit an exhibition with their teacher.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS, Le Parisien, Rue Saint Jacques, Sorbonne University . Florence Berthout, Berthout, BFM, Bertrand Boucey, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Tassilo Hummel, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Le Parisien, Paris, Paris American Academy, Paris police, Rue Saint, Notre, Dame de Paris Cathedral, Sorbonne University . Florence, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Le

☆ France to witness 12th nationwide strike against Macron's pension law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Ingrid Melander | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Protesters hold a drawing depicting a portrait of French President Emmanuel Macron during a demonstration as part of the tenth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform in Paris, France, March 28, 2023. "I'm not that optimistic about the Constitutional Council's decision," far-right leader Marine Le Pen told BFM TV, who is against the pension bill. Macron and his government argue the law is essential to ensure that France's generous pension system does not go bust. Unions say this can be done by other means, including taxing the rich more, or making deeper changes to the pension system. However, the CGT union called for a walkout at all refineries on Thursday as part of the nationwide strike.

A successful no-confidence vote would fell the government and kill the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Sunday called the votes "a moment of truth" for the government. Senior officials from the conservative Les Republicains (LR) party have said they will not get behind the no-confidence motions. Le Monde calculated that at least 26 LR lawmakers would need to back the motion for it to succeed. Even if the motions flop, Macron's failure to find enough support in parliament to put his pension system overhaul to a vote has undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership, observers say.

☆ Man with knife wounds several at Paris' Gare du Nord station - France Bleu
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Jan 11 (Reuters) - A man with a knife wounded several people at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris on Wednesday morning, France Bleu radio reported. The attacker was "neutralised" by police, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter, without going into further detail. The attack happened around 0640 CET (0540 GMT) inside the train station, radio franceinfo said, quoting rail operator SNCF. The station is one of the busiest in Europe and a major link between Paris, London and the north of Europe. Reporting by Bertrand Boucey and Sudip Kar-Gupta; writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of French far-left opposition party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), and leader of the New Ecologic and Social People's Union (NUPES), takes part in a protest against soaring inflation and what they call a lack of government action to fight climate change, in Paris, France October 16, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane MahePARIS, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to protest against soaring prices as weeks of strikes for higher wages at oil refineries spurred demands for a general strike. The leader of hard-left party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), Jean-Luc Melenchon, marched alongside this year's Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Annie Ernaux. Budget Minister Gabriel Attal said the left-wing coalition was attempting to exploit the current situation, marked by ongoing strikes at French utility EDF's nuclear plants and at French oil refineries. "Today's march is a march of supporters who want to block the country," he said on French radio station Europe 1.

☆ IEA Birol: "very obvious" who was behind the Nord Stream sabotage
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Nord Stream AG FollowPARIS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said on Thursday it was "very obvious" who was behind the suspected sabotage against the Nord Stream pipelines which caused major leaks into the Baltic Sea. "It is not yet known who made it, who is behind this sabotage, there is still discussion more or less but (...) it is very obvious (...) who was behind this issue," he told a conference on renewable energies in Paris. The Nord Stream pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between capitals in Europe and Moscow that has damaged major Western economies and sent gas prices soaring. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Bertrand Boucey; Writing by Bennoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Dominique VidalonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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