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☆ France's Farmer Lobby Turns up Heat on Government Before Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

Farmers cite a government tax on tractor fuel, cheap imports, water storage issues, price pressures from retailers and red tape among their grievances. France's largest farm union FNSEA has said it is considering nationwide protests in the coming weeks. Farming policy has always been a sensitive issue in France, the European Union's biggest agricultural producer, with thousands of independent producers of wine, meat and dairy. President Emmanuel Macron is wary of farmers' growing support for the far-right ahead of the European Parliament elections in June. Fearing a spillover from farmer protests in Germany, Poland and Romania, the government has withdrawn a draft farming law planned for debate this week and invited farming representatives for talks, starting on Monday afternoon.

Persons: Nicolas Delame PARIS, Arnaud Gaillot, I'd, FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, Emmanuel Macron, Gaillot, Rousseau, Gabriel Attal, Marc Fesneau, Fesneau, Nicolas Delam, Diana Mandia, Tassilo Hummel, Ros Russell Organizations: Young Farmers, France, Farmers, France Inter, Farming, Midi Libre Locations: Europe, France, Germany, Poland, Romania

☆ 'No plan B' for Paris opening ceremony after knife attack - sports minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Olympic rings to celebrate the IOC official announcement that Paris won the 2024 Olympic bid are seen in front of the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero square in Paris, France, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDec 4 (Reuters) - There is no "plan B" for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games, the French sports minister said on Monday, after a man armed with a knife and hammer killed a German tourist and left two people wounded near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. "We have no plan B, we have a plan in which there are several sub-plans with a certain number of adjustment variables," Amelie Oudea-Castera told France Inter radio. The attack occurred on the Quai de Grenelle - a spot also included in the plans for the opening ceremony. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski and Tassilo Hummel Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Christian Hartmann, Amelie Oudea, Castera, Jean, Francois Ricard, Pont, Tony Estanguet, Piotr Lipinski, Tassilo Hummel, Bernadette Baum Organizations: IOC, Paris, REUTERS, France Inter, Islamic, Games, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Islamic State, Grenelle, Chechen, Israel

☆ 'No Plan B' for Paris Opening Ceremony After Knife Attack -Sports Minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - There is no "plan B" for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games, the French sports minister said on Monday, after a man armed with a knife and hammer killed a German tourist and left two people wounded near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. "We have no plan B, we have a plan in which there are several sub-plans with a certain number of adjustment variables," Amelie Oudea-Castera told France Inter radio. The 26-year-old suspect, a French national arrested after the attack, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video recorded beforehand, anti-terrorism Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said on Sunday. The attack occurred on the Quai de Grenelle - a spot also included in the plans for the opening ceremony. France has been on high alert since raising its security threshold in October, when a Chechen-origin man with a knife killed a teacher in a school in northern France.

Persons: Amelie Oudea, Castera, Jean, Francois Ricard, Pont, Tony Estanguet, Piotr Lipinski, Tassilo Hummel, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Reuters, Paris, France Inter, Islamic, Games Locations: Islamic State, Grenelle, France, Chechen, Israel

☆ Eurozone Inflation Falls Faster Than Expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Excluding food and energy prices, so-called core inflation rose 3.6 percent, a sharply slower pace than previous months. “The price to pay is higher interest rates, more difficult financing and therefore an economic slowdown,” he added. Interest rates were raised from below zero and are now at the highest level in the central bank’s two-decade history. But Europe is facing a drawn-out economic slowdown as high interest rates and the lingering impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine continue to curb activity. to start lowering interest rates next year, possibly before the summer.

Persons: ” Bert Colijn, ” Bruno Le Maire, Christine Lagarde, Colijn Organizations: ING Bank, European Central Bank, ”, Eurostat, France Inter Locations: Ukraine, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Europe, United States

REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Night-time protests across France over the past few days by ultra-right militants chanting "Islam out of Europe" have been fanned by last week's rioting in Dublin, a French intelligence source and far-right Telegram communications indicate. In messages sent on French far-right Telegram groups, seen by Reuters, videos of the Dublin riots were shared, highlighting what they said was the assailant's Algerian origin and hailing the reaction of the Irish far-right. CALMING TENSIONSOn a visit to Crepol on Monday, government spokesperson Olivier Veran urged calm, saying "we don't respond to violence with violence, we respond with justice. There are about 3,000 violent ultra-right militants identified by the French intelligence services. That number has been stable for the last few years but the national coordination by demonstrators as seen on Saturday is a new phenomenon, the intelligence source said.

Persons: Sarah Meyssonnier, Jean, Yves Camus, Thomas, Bravo, Camus, Olivier Veran, Gerald Darmanin, Martel, Darmanin, Laurent de Caigny, Layli Foroudi, Juliette Jabkhiro, William Maclean Organizations: French Municipal Police, REUTERS, Rights, Rennes, Grenoble, Telegram, Reuters, France Inter, Thomson Locations: Paris, Villepinte, France, Europe, Dublin, Crepol, Lyon, Ireland

☆ Macron to address nation amid rise in antisemitic acts in France
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron will meet political party leaders on Thursday and address the nation on TV to call for unity and try to prevent any spillover of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in France, where there has been a rise in antisemitic acts. France has Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish populations and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has in the past contributed to tensions between the two. Antisemitic acts have risen in France since Hamas attacked Israeli towns on Saturday, killing more than 1,300 people, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. Israel has responded by launching the most powerful bombing campaign on Gaza, ruled by Hamas, in the 75-year history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, killing more than 1,200 and destroying whole neighbourhoods. Darmanin said France had seen a spike in online hatred but also more direct threats.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Wolfgang Rattay, Gerald Darmanin, Darmanin, Esther, Eitan, Macron, Ingrid Melander, Nicolas Delame, John Irish, Elizabeth Pineau, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, France Inter, Israel, Thomson Locations: Hamburg, Germany, France, Israel, Gaza, Darmanin, Palestinian, French

☆ Oil price spike does not change European Central Bank's view on inflation, Villeroy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau delivers a speech during the annual meeting of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises leaders at the Bank of France in Paris, France, October 22, 2021. "Gasoline consumption at the pump represents roughly 5% of our total consumption, so it is a small part of total inflation, even if it is what is most visible," he told France Inter radio. "I will say it again this morning, our forecast and our commitment is to bring inflation towards 2% by 2025," he added. Villeroy also reiterated that ECB rates were at a good level and called for patience. "We have passed the peak of inflation, there even seem to be a turnaround in underlying inflation (...) now we have to be perseverant, keep rates at this level for as long as it takes," he said.

Persons: Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Sarah Meyssonnier, Francois Villeroy de, Villeroy, Patience, Sybille de La Hamaide, Gilles Guillaume Our Organizations: France, Bank of France, REUTERS, Rights, European Central Bank, ECB, France Inter, Brent, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine

☆ France: Teen dies after collision with police car near Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The French government on Thursday called for calm following the death of a 16-year-old boy whose motorbike collided with a police car on a road outside Paris. Government spokesman Olivier Veran said the investigations under way would determine the "exact circumstances" of Wednesday's collision. I am calling for restraint and careful consideration," he said on France Inter radio. The death of the teenager, whose ethnicity had not been reported, occurred as France gears up to host the Rugby World Cup. The tournament kicks off on Friday when France play New Zealand at the Stade de France near Paris.

Persons: Olivier Veran, Dominique Vidalon, Alain Acco, Christina Fincher, John Stonestreet Organizations: Prosecutors, Government, France Inter, Rugby, New Zealand, Stade de France, Thomson Locations: Paris, Elancourt, Yvelines, Nanterre, France

A lawyer representing the boy's family accused police of ramming a patrol car into his motocross bike during a high-speed chase on Wednesday. Prosecutors said that they were treating the incident as "unintentional" and were looking for videos to ascertain the facts. The crash happened just over two months after police shot and killed a 17-year-old of North African descent at a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. The tournament, one of the major events on this year's international sporting calendar, kicks off on Friday when France play New Zealand at the Stade de France near Paris. Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Alain Acco, Layli Foroudi; Editing by John Stonestreet and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yves Herman, France's, Olivier Veran, Dominique Vidalon, Alain Acco, Layli, John Stonestreet, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Police, Prosecutors, France Inter, Rugby, New Zealand, Stade de France, Thomson Locations: Nanterre, Paris suburb, France, PARIS, Paris, Elancourt, Yvelines

☆ Fundraiser for policeman who shot French teenager reflects divisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Elizabeth Pineau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Leftwing politicians have branded the fundraiser as shameful while the far right has defended a police force it says is a daily target for violence in the low-income suburbs that ring French cities. It is a debate that reflects the deep fractures running through French society. "This police officer is the victim of a national witch-hunt and it is a disgrace," Messiha tweeted soon after launching the campaign. "You are perpetuating an already yawning rift by supporting a police officer under investigation for voluntary homicide. ($1 = 0.9173 euros)Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Richard Lough, editing by Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Macron, Nahel, Jean Messiha, Eric Zemmour's, Messiha, Olivier Faure, GoFundMe, Eric Dupond, Moretti, Emmanuel Macron, Elizabeth Pineau, Richard Lough, Emelia Sithole Organizations: U.S, Socialist Party, France Inter, Police, Thomson Locations: PARIS, France, French, Algerian, United States, Britain

☆ French Minister Dussopt says 'not exhausted, nor weakened' by favoritism charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, June 3 (Reuters) - French Employment Minister Olivier Dussopt said on Saturday he was innocent following a charge of favouritism in the award of a water contract in 2009 and would defend himself against the charge, adding he was "not exhausted, nor weakened". "I expect to convince the court of my good faith and my innocence," Dussopt, who played a key role in President Emmanuel Macron's decision to push through unpopular pension reforms, told France Inter Radio. Dussopt will face a court hearing in November over the allegation, France's financial prosecutor said on Friday. An official at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's office said on Friday Dussopt continued to have her backing. The allegation of favouritism relates to before Dussopt took up his current ministerial role and when he was a local mayor.

Persons: Olivier Dussopt, Dussopt, Emmanuel Macron's, Elisabeth Borne's, favouritism, Mimosa Spencer, David Holmes Organizations: French, France Inter Radio, Thomson

☆ France's food-price inflation to ease off by September, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 30 (Reuters) - Food price inflation in France - which has been a major concern for consumers - should ease off by September, said government minister Olivia Gregoire on Sunday. "By the time people come back from their holidays in September, we will have a visible decrease in the prices you see on the shelves and in terms of food price inflation," Gregoire, who is a government minister responsible for small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs), told France Inter radio. Gregoire's comments echoed those from Bank of France governor and European Central Bank member Francois Villeroy de Galhau, who said earlier this month that he expected food price inflation to start easing in the second half of this year. France's headline inflation level rose to 5.9% in April from 5.7% in March. The French inflation level stood at 6.9%, as measured by a European Union-harmonised consumer price index.

☆ Paris police 'very vigilant' ahead of new round of pension protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A protester walks his dog wearing a CGT labour union vest during a demonstration as part of the tenth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform in Nice, France, March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Eric GaillardPARIS, March 28 (Reuters) - French police are on the lookout for more protesters bent on violence joining marches against planned pension reform, the chief of police in Paris said on Tuesday, hours before a new round of country-wide demonstrations and strikes. Laurent Nunez, president of Paris's Prefecture de Police, told France Inter radio that security agencies believed more people intent on violence could join the protests and police had to be ready. "We are talking about individuals which often are being monitored by intelligence services ... and we are very vigilant about their presence," Nunez said. A total of 13,000 police agents will be deployed during the protests throughout the day, more than ever before, Darmanin said.

☆ Unions seek to bring France to a halt to block pension reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ingrid Melander | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Suburban trains are seen at the Saint-Lazare train station in Paris on the eve of the sixth nationwide day of strike and protests against the pension reform in France with heavy disruption on French SNCF railway and the Paris transport RATP networks, France, March 6, 2023. "Together, on March 7th, let's put France to a halt! "People massively reject this reform," CFDT union leader Laurent Berger told France Inter radio. "The future of our pension system is at stake," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told France 5 TV on Monday. "We are moving up a gear," the head of CGT union, Philippe Martinez, told weekly JDD.

The slogan reads "No to the Macron's pension reform". In what could prove a prolonged standoff, unions and their members are seeking to minimise the impact on personal finances already strained by the worst cost of living crisis in decades. French unions generally do not have permanent strike funds to help members cope, though some will set up occasional kitties financed by donations for a specific cause. While it is generally used to cover legal fees and compensate workers in local strikes, members are now clamouring for it to help cover lost pay during the pension strikes. However, even before the cost of living crisis, French unions have struggled to resist government reform plans in the decades since massive strikes in 1995 successfully forced a conservative government to drop a pension overhaul.

☆ French labour minister says raising pensions age is 'non-negotiable' despite mass protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Benoit TessierPARIS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - French Labour Minister Oliver Dussopt said on Wednesday that raising the retirement age to 64 was "non-negotiable", a day after more than a million people marched in protest at the proposed measure and a union leader called for rolling strikes. "If we do not go to 64, the pension system will not break even. What is not negotiable is the issue of returning to break-even," Dussopt told France 2 Television. "I believe in rolling strikes. They are playing the tug of war," he told France Inter radio.

☆ Dialogue not over, French PM says as workers protest pension reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Bridges between President Emmanuel Macron's government and labour unions are not burned despite nationwide strike plans, the French prime minister said on Saturday as her government battles to tame public anger over an unpopular pensions reform. Elisabeth Borne earlier this week broke the news to the French that they will have to work two years longer, to age 64, before receiving the state pension, if the reform - one of Macron's main political promises - is adopted by parliament. "My objective today is to convince the French people that we have paid attention to all the particular hardships, that this reform is fair and that it enables social progress." Borne responded: "I hear all those who are calling the reform brutal, I think what would be brutal is for our country to not have a pay-as-you-go pension system any more". She repeated the government's mantra that the reform was needed to keep finances in balance.

The French will have to work two years longer to age 64 before retiring, if the reform, announced on Tuesday, is adopted by parliament. They will also need to work longer to get a full pension. "I don't understand the principle of making people work longer when there are lots of young people looking for work." Unions will in any case get the support of the left-wing Nupes coalition in parliament, which urged workers to protest on Jan. 19. Under its plan, the retirement age will be raised by three months per year from September, reaching the target age of 64 in 2030.

☆ French inflation slows unexpectedly in December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The inflation rate fell to 6.7% in December, according to preliminary EU-harmonised data from the national statistics office INSEE. Energy prices increased 15.1% compared with 18.4% in November as wholesale gas prices fell across Europe in recent weeks amid record high temperatures. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio that inflation would see a downward trend over the course of 2023. In the short term, energy prices are likely to add to inflation pressures in January as regulated gas and power prices rose by 15% at the start of the year. "Nonetheless, the favourable moves in energy prices suggest there may be light at the end of the tunnel," said economist Sylvain Bersinger with consultancy Asteres.

☆ No need for French border controls over China COVID surge - health official
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 29 (Reuters) - There is no need for France to impose border controls in reaction to a surge of COVID infections in China, the head of France's health risks committee said on Thursday. "From a scientific point of view, there is no reason to bring back controls at the border ... but that could change any day," Brigitte Autran, head of the French health risk assessment committee COVARS, said on French Radio Classique. Autran - who advises the government on epidemiological risks - said that for now "the situation is under control" and that there are no signs of worrying new COVID variants in China. Health officials from the European Union's 27 countries will talk later on Thursday about how to coordinate the European response to China's COVID surge. read moreReporting by Myrian Rivet and Geert De Clercq; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ France's energy watchdog sees no risk to power supplies until at least mid-January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 28 (Reuters) - There is no risk to power supplies in France until at least mid-January, the head of the country's CRE energy watchdog, Emmanuelle Wargon, said on Wednesday. The government has set a target of cutting France's energy consumption by 10% by 2024 from 2019 levels, as part of a wide ranging plan that includes turning off lights and lowering thermostats to avoid power and gas cuts over the winter amid the war in Ukraine. "We remain attentive and vigilant" in case temperatures drop, she said, adding that "until mid-January, we know we won't have problems". Wargon also said that France's nuclear fleet, currently hit by maintenance and repair works, is expected to reach a production capacity of 45 gigawatts (GW) in January. Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ France spends 8.4 billion euros to help companies with energy bills
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Pascal RossignolPARIS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - France will spend 8.4 billion euros ($8.67 billion) to help companies pay their energy bills, in a bid to cushion the impact of rising electricity and gas prices and help them compete with German businesses, its finance minister said on Saturday. "(French) companies will be protected as well as German companies are," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio. Earlier this year, Germany set out 200 billion euros to protect companies and households from high energy prices, drawing criticism from other EU countries fearing a distortion of the EU level playing field. The 8.4 billion euros package France unveiled on Saturday is the cost for 2022 and 2023 together, the finance ministry said in a statement. France has already earmarked 45 billion euros to help households.

☆ France's Macron leaves door ajar to proscribe Iran's Guards as more sanctions come
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday more targeted European Union sanctions on Iranian officials would be adopted and he left the door open to the bloc designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a terrorist organisation. "We are several who are pushing for targeted sanctions especially on pasdaran (IRGC) and people in the regime," Macron told France Inter radio in an interview." When asked whether he would support designating the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, Macron said as things developed the question needed to be looked at. Reporting by John Irish, Tassilo Hummel, editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU piles pressure on Iran's leaders with more sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Macron said the crackdown by Iranian leaders would make it harder to reach agreement on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, which would give Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. "I don't think there will be new proposals which can be made right now to save the nuclear deal." Speaking after he met four Iranian women activists in Paris over the weekend, Macron said that more European Union sanctions would be adopted in reaction to Tehran's actions. Iranian leaders blame foreign enemies including the United States for what they call riots. In a letter published by Emtedad news website, some 2,300 graduated students of Amirkabir University in Tehran urged authorities to release students detained.

☆ As EU sanctions come, Macron says Iran 'revolution' harms nuclear deal prospects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The grand children of the revolution are carrying out a revolution and are devouring it," Macron said when asked to qualify what was taking place in Iran. Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months as efforts to revive the nuclear talks, to which France is one of the parties, have stalled. "I don't think there will be new proposals which can be made right now [to save the nuclear deal]", he said. The EU, the United States, Canada and Britain have imposed sanctions on Iran. EU foreign ministers will impose new sanctions on Iran on Monday, diplomats and officials have said.

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