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☆ France to sue student it accuses of falsely accusing principal of forcibly removing headscarf
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Joseph Ataman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Paris CNN —A French high school student is being sued by the government for falsely accusing her former principal of assaulting her after he made her remove her headscarf on school premises, the country’s prime minister said Wednesday. Last year France banned the abaya – a long, robe-like garment often worn by Muslim women – despite warnings its prohibition was discriminatory. The student refused and “looked to intimidate” the school principal by accusing him of having physically assaulted her while removing her headscarf, Attal said. Attal said that her accusations were shared on social media, leading to “unacceptable” death threats against the school principal. In 2022, lawmakers backed a ban on wearing the hijab and other “conspicuous religious symbols” in sports competitions.

Persons: Paris CNN —, Gabriel Attal, Maurice Ravel Lycée, “, ”, Attal, BFMTV, “ Allahu Akbar, Samuel Paty, Charlie Hebdo, Emmanuel Macron Organizations: Paris CNN, French, TF1, CNN, BFMTV Locations: French, France, Europe’s, Paris, Arras

☆ Atos shares plunge as nationalisation calls threaten planned Kretinsky deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Atos (ATOS.PA) shares plunged on Monday after calls from opposition lawmakers for the nationalisation of the ailing IT firm on national security grounds raised doubts about a planned deal involving Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Asked by Reuters if the government was considering nationalisation, or could support an amendment to do so, a finance ministry source replied "no". Lawmakers from Les Republicains said the deal threatened to allow French supercomputers, made by Atos and used for virtual nuclear tests, to fall into foreign hands. Others, including Brun, have said critical Atos components were also used in combat systems used by France's navy and air force. Atos had also won a contract to process data for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Persons: Atos, Sarah Meyssonnier, Daniel Kretinsky, Olivier Marleix, Socialist Philippe Brun, Philippe Brun, Jean, Pierre Mustier, Les Republicains, Brun, Leigh Thomas, Mathieu Rosemain, Tassilo Hummel, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Les Republicans, Socialist, Atos, Reuters, supercomputing, Paris, National Assembly, Thomson Locations: Paris, France

☆ French centre-right keeps control of Senate, far-right wins three seats
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] French Senate President Gerard Larcher arrives to attend a state dinner in honor of Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla at the Chateau de Versailles (Versailles Palace) in Versailles, near Paris, on the first day of their State visit to France, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Acquire Licensing Rights Read morePARIS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - France's centre-right Les Republicains (LR) party maintained its majority in the Senate after Sunday's vote, in which three senators from Marine Le Pen's far-right party were elected. The Senate is indirectly elected by France's mayors as well as regional, departmental and municipal councillors. Le Pen's Rassemblement National had been widely expected to make a new breakthrough in the Senate but the score of three wins was above expectations. Under France's Fifth Republic, the Senate has less influence over legislating than the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

Persons: Gerard Larcher, Britain's King Charles, Queen Camilla, Hannah McKay, Les Republicains, Le Pen's, Sonia Backes, Emmanuel Macron's, Macron, Michel Rose, Sybille de La, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Chateau, REUTERS, State, France's Fifth, National Assembly, Socialist, Thomson Locations: Versailles, Paris, France, PARIS, Marine, Rassemblement, New Caledonia, France's Fifth Republic

Paris CNN —France’s highest court on Thursday upheld the government’s ban on students in public schools from wearing the abaya, a long, robe-like garment often worn by Muslim women, in a decision that rights groups warn will lead to more discrimination. The ban has its legal foundation in a law passed in 2004 forbidding the wearing of “conspicuous” religious symbols in French schools. Action Droits Des Musulmans (ADM), the Muslim rights group that filed the appeal, argued that the ban infringes on “fundamental rights,” such as the right to personal freedom. Macron said the ban was not “stigmatizing” anyone, but “people who push the abaya” are. Last year lawmakers backed a ban on wearing the hijab and other “conspicuous religious symbols” in sports competitions.

Persons: Musulmans, Vincent Brengarth, “, Gabriel Attal, ”, ” Attal, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, – Organizations: Paris CNN — France’s, ADM, Twitter, United Nations Human Rights Locations: Republic, France

CNN —French authorities will be “uncompromising” in their enforcement of a new ban on abayas in schools, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday, following the decision to ban the robe-like garment in the upcoming academic year. He reiterated that “religious symbols of any kind have no place” in French schools under the country’s principle of “laïcité,” which translates roughly to “secularism” in English. Because this is the very condition that makes citizenship possible and therefore religious symbols of any kind have no place in them. And we will vigorously defend this secularism,” Macron remarked. Last year lawmakers backed a ban on wearing the hijab and other “conspicuous religious symbols” in sports competitions.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Danièle Obono, Macron, ” Macron, “, ”, – Organizations: CNN, “, United Nations Human Rights Locations: Vaucluse, France

CNN —France will ban schoolchildren from wearing abayas ahead of the upcoming academic year, the government has said, the latest in a series of contentious restrictions in the country on clothing associated with Muslims. French Education Minister Gabriel Attal said the long, robe-like garments often worn by Muslim women wouldn’t be permitted in the nation’s schools from the new term, which starts in September. Last year lawmakers backed a ban on wearing the hijab and other “conspicuous religious symbols” in sports competitions. France’s earlier ban on the niqab – full-face veils worn by some Muslim women – violated the human rights of those who wore it, the United Nations Human Rights Committee said in 2018. Muslim women are pictured in a shopping mall in Nanterre, France, in July.

Persons: Gabriel Attal, wouldn’t, ”, ” Attal, Danièle, Jean, Luc Mélenchon, ” Mélenchon, –, Romuald Meigneux, Sarah Alouane, Attal Organizations: CNN, French, “, TF1, United Nations Human Rights, & State Locations: France, Republic, Nanterre

☆ 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 lawmakers raise strategic concerns over Atos sale to Kretinsky
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Atos is seen on a company building in Nantes, France, March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File PhotoPARIS, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Talks to sell parts of French company Atos (ATOS.PA) to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky are raising concerns among some French lawmakers, who say the deal risks undermining the independence of France's nuclear deterrence. Lawmakers cannot block a sale of a French company, only the government can if it considers there is a strategic reason for doing so. The lawmakers questioned why an alternative French buyer, a consortium of French companies Astek and ChapsVision, who were reported in French media to have been interested, were not given more consideration. A source close to Astek said Atos's cybersecurity business also hosted other sensitive assets crucial to French intelligence interests.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Daniel Kretinsky, Atos, Thursday's, Figaro, Cedric Perrin, Kretinsky, Perrin, Astek, Atos's, Michel Rose, Mathieu Rosemain, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Les, Kretinsky, Casino, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Nantes, France, Czech, Europe

☆ Macron reshuffles ministers after French riots "stunned" country
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] French Junior Minister for Public Accounts Gabriel Attal speaks during a debate on the pension reform plan at the National Assembly in Paris, France February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File PhotoPARIS, July 20 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday reshuffled his ministers for key domestic portfolios such as education, housing and urban affairs, as his government begins its response to riots that shook the country three weeks ago. Borne, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin all remained in place. "We're in a spirit of continuity but let's not pretend as if there hasn't been something that stunned the country for a few nights," he told them. Other figures who had caused embarrassment to the government in recent months, including a junior minister who had posed for the cover of Playboy magazine during the pension reform crisis, left the cabinet.

Persons: Gabriel Attal, Sarah Meyssonnier, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Pap, Sabrina Agresti, Aurelien Rousseau, Elisabeth Borne's, Bruno Le Maire, Catherine Colonna, Gerald Darmanin, Borne, Michel Rose, Dominique Vidalon, Sudip Kar, Alison Williams Organizations: French Junior, Public, National Assembly, REUTERS, Finance, Playboy, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Algerian, North, Dunkirk, Borne

☆ Macron decides to keep French PM in role despite pension unrest, riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Months of unrest and strikes over Macron's pension reform in the spring as well as five days of riots and looting in French cities earlier this month had fuelled calls among political opponents and some government insiders for a reshuffle. "To ensure stability and in-depth work, the President has decided to maintain the Prime Minister," Macron's office said. But Macron said last week he needed more time to draft policy in response to the riots, which he said required more than "knee-jerk" reactions. A source close to Macron told Reuters changing prime minister now made no sense, since Macron's minority government had not managed to strike a deal with potential right-wing conservative allies in parliament. Macron was keeping the option of offering the conservative Les Republicains the prime minister seat as a prize for a formal coalition, the source added.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne, Borne, Macron, Les, Liu Zhifan, Dominique Vidalon, Michel Rose, Sandra Maler, Alistair Bell Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Borne

☆ Tensions on France's streets ease, fewer arrests overnight
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The interior ministry said 157 people were arrested overnight, down from over 700 arrests the night before and over 1,300 on Friday night. Three of the 45,000 police officers deployed overnight were injured, the ministry said, while around 350 buildings and 300 vehicles were damaged, according to provisional figures. The grandmother of Nahel, the teenager shot dead by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb, said on Sunday she wanted the nationwide rioting triggered by his killing to end. "We were modest, we hadn't have much, but we wanted to overcome it, we had hope that we would make it with hard work." At this stage, everything indicates the people who attacked his home were youths from the same suburb, he added.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Nahel, Vincent Jeanbrun, Jeanbrun, BFM, Les Republicains, Tassilo Hummel, Lincoln, Alison Williams Organizations: Thomson Locations: France, North, Paris, l'Hay, L'Hay

☆ Home of French mayor ram-raided and torched by rioters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Vincent Jeanbrun, mayor of the southern suburb of L'Hay-les-Roses, said his wife and one of their two children, aged five and seven, were injured as they fled the building in the early hours. Jeanbrun, from the conservative Les Republicains party, was not at home but at the town hall during the incident. The town hall has been the target of attack for several nights since the shooting and has been protected with barbed wire and barricades. "While attempting to shield them and fleeing the attackers, my wife and one of my children got hurt." Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vincent Jeanbrun, Jeanbrun, Elizabeth Pineau, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Alison Williams Organizations: Thomson Locations: Paris, L'Hay

☆ France's Macron seeks to show he's no lame duck as pension discontent rumbles on
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

France's President Emmanuel Macron looks on in a meeting with JP Morgan CEO during the 5th edition of the "Choose France" Business Summit, in Versailles, southwest of Paris, on July 11, 2022. Around 8,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Toulouse, France, on June 06, 2023, protesting against the government. "They know Macron has no alternative than to rely on them, making it almost impossible to develop the centrist domestic project," he said. This is largely attributable to Macron's agenda," Schmieding said, adding France was replacing Germany was the most dynamic major European economy. French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at a Franco-Chinese business council meeting in Beijing, China April 6, 2023.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Morgan, Ludovic Marin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Macron, Renaud Foucart, Foucart, Les Republicains, Mujtaba Rahman, Rahman, Bruno Le Maire, Elon Musk, Holger Schmieding, Schmieding, Xi Jinping Organizations: Business, Afp, Getty, Nurphoto, Lancaster University, Eurasia Group, Macron, Finance, EU, U.S, Elon Locations: Versailles, Paris, Germany, Union, Toulouse, France, China, Ukraine, Europe, Beijing

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech during the National Conference on Disability at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 26, 2023. "You talk a lot of nonsense everyday," the man told Macron, after the president, barely able to squeeze in an answer, said he should get his numbers right. Such direct confrontations, the president reckons, are essential to give people a cathartic release after weeks of anger directed at the government's pension bill and Macron himself. Before the pension reform protests, the government managed to pass legislation on issues such as nuclear energy and renewables with the help of both left-wing and right-wing lawmakers outside Macron's centrist alliance. That was apparent again this week, when his prime minister Elisabeth Borne was forced to give up on an immigration bill.

[1/2] Protesters hold placards depicting French President Emmanuel Macron during a demonstration as part of the 12th day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform, in Paris, France, April 13, 2023. It would also need to find its way through parliament, where Macron has lost his working majority and debate has become increasingly fractious. The conservative Les Republicains' (LR) party, which the government had hoped it would be able to count on for support, has emerged deeply divided from the pension reform saga. "There are gaping wounds in the country," LR lawmaker Aurélien Pradié, who rebelled against the pro-pension reform party line on the reform, said on Twitter. So while the pension reform is on the statute books, Macron has much political capital still to regain.

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.

☆ France's Macron faces no-confidence vote as protestors arrested, refinery strikes continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to attend the National Roundtable on Diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry in Paris on March 16, 2023. The government of French President Emmanuel Macron faces a no-confidence vote Monday afternoon, as furious opposition lawmakers contest his decision to force changes to the pension system through parliament without a poll. If the no-confidence vote fails, the bill will go through and lift the retirement age of most workers from 62 to 64 by 2030. Much will hinge on how many members of the center-right Les Republicains party break ranks and vote against the government. Macron calculated he did not have the votes to see the legislation through the lower house of the National Assembly.

☆ France's Macron faces another test with parliamentary votes on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

However, while Monday's votes may put on display anger at Macron's government, they are unlikely to bring it down. Opposition lawmakers filed two motions of no-confidence in parliament on Friday. Centrist group Liot proposed a multiparty no-confidence motion, which was co-signed by the far-left Nupes alliance. Hours later, France's far-right National Rally party, which has 88 National Assembly members, also filed a no-confidence motion. None of them had sponsored the first no-confidence motion filed on Friday.

Cars were torched in Paris and other French cities in the evening during otherwise peaceful demonstrations involving several thousand people. "Something fundamental happened, and that is that, immediately, spontaneous mobilisations took place throughout the country," hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said. Protests took place in cities including Toulon on Friday, and more were planned for the weekend. Macron will want to turn the page quickly, with government officials already preparing more socially minded reforms. Amid the unrest on Thursday evening, someone had tagged on a shop front: "Let's destroy what destroys us."

[1/8] Protesters, holding a placard which reads "Members of parliament, do not vote the pension reform bill", gather in front of the National Assembly in Paris as French parliament set to vote on pensions reform bill, France, March 16, 2023. The afternoon vote in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, is a different matter. "It seems that the tally does not ensure a win in the National Assembly," Bruno Retailleau, the head of the LR senators told Public Senat TV. It could decide to resort to a procedure known as "49:3", which would allow it to push the text through without a vote. "If this reform is adopted, the anger and the contestation of this reform will not end," Laurent Berger, the head of CFDT, France's largest union, told franceinfo.

☆ Police fire tear gas at spontaneous anti-pension bill protest in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, March 16 (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas at protesters on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, where some 7,000 people demonstrated against the government's pension changes in a spontaneous and unplanned rally. [1/3] A demonstrator holds a CGT labour union flag during a protest after French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne used the article 49.3, a special clause in the French Constitution, to push the pensions reform bill through the National Assembly without a vote by lawmakers, in Nantes, France, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe 1 2 3A Reuters reporter saw cobble stones being thrown at the police, who charged to break up groups of protesters. The demonstration was across the river Seine from parliament, where Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne earlier on Thursday announced her government would push through the reform using a special constitution clause, as her minority government could not get the necessary backing from the opposition conservative Les Republicains party. Reporting by Antony Paone, writing by GV De Clercq; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/11] Protesters take part in a demonstration against the French government's pension reform plan, as part of the eighth day of national strike and protests, in Ancenis-Saint-Gereon, France, March 15, 2023. The pension bill passed to a joint parliamentary committee on Wednesday where lawmakers from the lower and upper chambers are seeking a compromise text. If a deal is reached, a final vote in both the Senate and National Assembly will be held on Thursday. This new day of protests "is meant to tell lawmakers: don't vote this reform," he said. "In the National Assembly, there will not be an easy vote, nor will there be panic," government spokesman Olivier Veran told Europe 1 radio station.

☆ Macron seeks French pension reform support as strikes run on
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, March 13 (Reuters) - Strikes blocking fuel deliveries from French refineries ran into a sixth day on Monday, piling further pressure on President Emmanuel Macron as he races to shore up support for unpopular pension reforms in a final parliamentary vote. The last and crucial moment would then be a final vote, Thursday, both in the Senate and in the National Assembly. [1/3] A view shows the French oil giant TotalEnergies refinery in Donges near Saint-Nazaire, France, March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe 1 2 3Macron's party needs the support of Les Republicains in the National Assembly to ensure the bill is approved. Veran also echoed Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who has said she preferred a vote rather than using the 49:3 procedure, which refers to the related article in the French constitution.

☆ French union leader vows to keep fighting Macron's pension plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, March 12 (Reuters) - French unions will keep on fighting against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plan despite the upper house of parliament approving the text on Saturday, a leader of one of the main unions said on Sunday. "Given the mobilisation of the population, the level of opposition to the plan (...) you cannot resort to a democratic flaw by using this 49:3 procedure," he said on BFM TV. "In my opinion, (using 49:3) would be very dangerous as it risks creating a great degree of bitterness," Berger added. French unions have called for an eighth round of nationwide demonstrations on that day to keep up the pressure on the government and parliament. Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ French Senate votes to raise retirement age to 64
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Protesters hold a banner during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris as part of a day of national strike and protests in France, January 31, 2023. French senators early on Thursday voted in favour of raising the legal retirement age to 64 from 62, a first win for President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plans which have sparked protests and strikes across the country. Two hundred and one members of the Senate, dominated by the conservative Les Republicains party, voted in favour of the reform's flagship article 7 on the retirement age, while 115 voted against it. The French upper house is expected to approve the remaining articles of the reform bill later this week. It will then be submitted to a mediation committee between lawmakers from the Senate and the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, next week.

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