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☆ France stabbing: Four children wounded in Annecy knife attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] French soldiers secure the area after several children and an adult have been injured in a knife attack in Annecy, in the French Alps, France, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseANNECY, France, June 8 (Reuters) - A Syrian national wounded four young children and an adult in a knife attack in a park in the southeastern French town of Annecy on Thursday, police said, and some of the victims were in critical condition. The wounded children were aged between 22 months and 3 years, they said. Witnesses said at least one of the children wounded in the attack was in a stroller. "Nothing more abominable than to attack children," National Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on Twitter.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Gerald Darmanin, Emmanuel Macron, Witnesses, Ferdinand, BFM, George, Yohan, Macron, Yael Braun, Pivet, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Geert De Clercq, Juliette Jabkhiro, Silvia Aloisi, Toby Chopra, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Denis Balibouse ANNECY, Syrian, Reuters, Twitter, Lake, Thomson Locations: Annecy, French, France, Syrian, Lake Annecy, Reims

☆ EU ministers seek long-stalled migration deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A tentative deal on the table comes after years of damaging feuds between EU states since their cooperation collapsed in acrimony in 2015 as more than a million people - mostly fleeing the war in Syria - arrived across the Mediterranean. "We can only handle migration together as the whole EU." CAMPSFor nearly a decade, EU countries traded blame for handling new arrivals. On Thursday, the ministers will also discuss EU aid for Tunisia, which is a gateway for African migration to Europe and faces growing instability. Bad blood spilled over as eastern EU countries like Poland and Hungary refused to host anyone from the mainly-Muslim Middle East and North Africa.

Persons: Nancy Faeser, France's Gerald Darmanin, Benoit van Overstraeten, Bart Meijer, Alexander Ratz, Kristina, Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Potter Organizations: Home, European Union, Liberal, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Syria, Spain, Tunisia, Europe, Italy, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, East, North Africa, EU, Budapest

☆ France plans major police presence for June 6 day of protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

In a tweet, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the extra policing would "ensure the security of the demonstrations and guarantee the right to demonstrate". Macron's reform to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62, has already sparked weeks of protests and strikes. "We are not asking to bring down the government, but to bring down the retirement reform," said Sophie Binet, leader of France's hard-left CGT union, on BFM TV on Sunday. The months-long battle against Macron's push to raise the retirement age has raised the profile and membership of France's unions, which have drawn interest from younger and private sector workers. Reporting by Kate Entringer and Mimosa Spencer; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron's, Gerald Darmanin, Sophie Binet, Binet, Kate Entringer, Mimosa Spencer, Barbara Lewis Organizations: French, CGT, Thomson Locations: Paris

☆ Italy calls for clearer apology from France over migration 'insult'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, May 7 (Reuters) - Italy remains dissatisfied with the apologies offered by Paris after a French minister accused Rome of mishandling the influx of migrants, Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Sunday. "Clearer words are needed," Tajani, who is member of the conservative Forza Italia party, told Italian state-owned television RAI in an interview. "I hope that the French government changes its position and that an apology comes that represents a contrast to the positions adopted by the Interior Minister. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said last week that Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had been "unable to solve the migration problems on which she was elected". Tajani called off a visit to Paris at the last minute on Thursday in a sign of protest over what he considered an "insult" to Italy.

☆ Italian foreign minister threatens to cancel Paris trip over French criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, May 4 (Reuters) - Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has threatened to cancel a trip to Paris on Thursday unless France clarifies comments by the French interior minister that were critical of Italy's prime minister, an official said. The French minister, Gerald Darmanin, told RMC radio earlier that Italian leader Giorgia Meloni was "unable to solve the migration problems on which she was elected" and accused her of "lying" to voters that she could end the crisis. An Italian government official, who declined to be named, said the trip would not go ahead without a "decisive and definitive" clarification from France on Darmanin's "offensive and totally unacceptable" statement. A French government source said they were trying to find a way to diplomatically reverse the comments by Darmanin, who is seen as particularly close to French President Emmanuel Macron. Reporting by Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer in Rome and John Irish and Tassilo Hummel in Paris, editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ France to mobilise wildfire-fighting forces one month early
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Lucien Libert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] French rescuers from the Securite Civile force attend the presentation of the 2023 plan to fight against wildfires, at Nimes-Garons airbase, France, April 25, 2023. REUTERS/Christian HartmannNIMES, France, April 27 (Reuters) - France will have wildfire-fighting troops and their water-carrying aircraft ready on June 1, one month earlier than usual, to adapt to fires starting earlier than in the past due to climate change, a senior official said. "It's one month earlier than in the past," he said. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said earlier this month, amid France's first major blaze this year at the border with Spain, that the country was headed for "an extremely difficult summer 2023, possibly as difficult as summer 2022." Reporting by Lucien Libert; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Andrew CawthorneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Four killed in avalanche in the French Alps
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 9 (Reuters) - Four people have died and nine others have been injured in an avalanche southwest of Mont Blanc in the French Alps, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday. The avalanche occurred in the middle of the day on the Armancette glacier, he wrote on Twitter. He said the avalanche was extensive, covering an area of one km by 500 metres (half a mile by 550 yards) at an altitude of 3,500 metres and that its causes are being investigated. President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that rescue services were continuing to search for further casualties and that his thoughts were with the victims and their families. Reporting by Layli Foroudi; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Building collapses in Marseille, at least six injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Smoke envelopes the area as police officers work at the scene of a fire following a gas explosion in Marseille, France, April 9, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Naima Haoulia/via REUTERSPARIS, April 9 (Reuters) - French rescue services were searching for victims and trying to put out a fire after an explosion caused a residential building to collapse in the centre of Marseille in the early hours of Sunday, with six injured identified so far. "I would like us to prepare for a difficult situation - we could have victims today," Payan said, adding that five of the six injured are in hospital in a "relatively urgent" situation. Firefighters were continuing to tackle the blaze and 80 people have been evacuated, according to the rescue services. "The fire makes it harder to find the victims," Commander Laurent of the rescue services in Marseille told BFMTV.

☆ 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.

☆ New protests against Macron and his pension bill amid warnings of violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Ingrid Melander | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Protests against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to delay retirement age by two years to 64 had been largely peaceful so far. In the last nationwide day of protests on Thursday, "Black Bloc" anarchists smashed shop windows, demolished bus stops and ransacked a McDonald's restaurant in Paris, with similar violence in other cities. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin warned on Monday that there was "a very serious risk" of further violence on Tuesday, in the capital and beyond. The government says the pension bill is vital to ensure the system does not go bust. Macron responded that he is more than willing to talk to unions, but on other topics.

☆ French police clash with protesters opposed to farm reservoir
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Yves HermanSAINTE-SOLINE, France, March 25 (Reuters) - Police in western France clashed with protesters on Saturday opposed to the creation of a large water reservoir for farm irrigation. Thousands of protesters converged on the site of the planned reservoir in the rural district of Sainte-Soline, where a similar protest last October resulted in injuries. Police fired tear gas to repel some protesters who threw fireworks and other projectiles as they crossed fields to approach the fenced-off construction area. Supporters say artificial reservoirs are a way to use water efficiently when needed, while critics argue they are outsized and favour large farms. Reporting by Yves Herman and Marco Trujillo; Writing by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Mike HarrisonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ King Charles' state visit to France is delayed as strikes paralyze its cities and people set fire to buildings to protest higher retirement age
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

France and the UK agreed to postpone King Charles III's scheduled state visit. The visit was delayed because of turmoil in France over plans to increase the pension age by two years. France is raising its state pension age from 62 to 64. Protests in France over Macron's plan to raise the pension age by two years have become more violent in recent days. Major tourist attractions, including the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles, where Charles was scheduled to have a state dinner, were also closed on Thursday.

☆ France pension reform protests turn violent following national day of action
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Aurore Laborie Dalal Mawad Oliver Briscoe Allegra Goodwin Pierre Bairin Helen Regan | Aurore Laborie | Dalal Mawad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Paris CNN —More than a million people took to the streets across France on Thursday with protests turning violent in some areas as demonstrators voiced their fury at proposed pension reforms. At least 80 people were arrested and 123 police officers injured in France on Thursday during the nationwide protests, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. The gate of the Bordeaux city hall after it was set on fire during a demonstration on a national day of action, on March 23 in Bordeaux, southwestern France. French riot police apprehend a protester amid clashes during a demonstration against pension reform in Paris on March 23, 2023. It rammed the legislation through the French National Assembly last week using a constitutional clause that allows the government to bypass a vote.

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."

☆ Police operation underway in Paris district of La Defense
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A police operation is underway in the French capital's La Defense business district, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter on Saturday as Paris police said "an incident" had triggered a panicked rush of people in the area. A spokesperson for the Paris police department dismissed reports that gunshots had been fired. The Paris police department earlier issued a tweet advising the public to avoid the area. It did not give further details. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Laetitia Volga Editing by Richard Lough and Helen PopperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Liverpool welcome UEFA report on Champions League final chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

UEFA apologised to Liverpool for initially blaming the Merseyside club's fans for the mayhem following the release of the independent review on Monday. "(The report) fully vindicates Liverpool fans while finding UEFA primarily responsible for organisational failings, absence of overall control or oversight of safety and security, poor planning and lack of contingency plans," Liverpool said in a statement on Tuesday. "The evidence-based panel report also found that there was 'a clear and immediate danger of a fatal crush' and that the action of Liverpool supporters saved lives." The report added that the parallels between last year's Champions League final and the 1989 Hillsborough soccer stadium disaster -- in which 97 Liverpool supporters lost their lives -- were "palpable". Liverpool supporters group 'Spirit of Shankly' said the report had "exonerated" the Premier League club's fans.

Protests in major French cities, including Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes and Nice, brought transport services to a standstill. Eight of the biggest unions had called for a “first day of strikes and protests” against pension reforms unveiled by President Emmanuel Macron’s government. Train lines across France were seeing “severe disruption,” according to French rail authority SNCF. Macron’s proposed pension reforms come as workers in France, as elsewhere, are being squeezed by rising food and energy bills. The French government has said that raising the retirement age is necessary to tackle a pension funding deficit.

PARIS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - France's hardline CGT union has threatened to cut off electricity supplies to lawmakers and billionaires before a nationwide strike on Thursday, in an increasingly acrimonious showdown over the government's plan to raise the retirement age. "I suggest they also go see the nice properties, the nice castles of billionaires," Philippe Martinez, leader of the CGT, France's second-largest trade union, told France 2 television on Wednesday. In recent days, Sebastien Menesplier, of the hardline CGT's energy and mine branch, has also threatened electricity cuts targeting the offices of MPs, local media quoted him as saying. Government spokesman Olivier Veran said threats to cut electricity were "unacceptable." Seven out of 10 primary school teachers will walk off their job, as will many refinery workers, unions and transport operators said.

Eight of France’s largest unions - covering transportation, education, police, executives and public sectors - called for Thursday to be the “first day of strikes and protests” against the proposed pensions reform. Widespread strikes are expected, and it may be “a hellish Thursday” on public transport networks, Transport Minister Clement Beaune warned French broadcaster France 2 Tuesday. Paris’ transport authority predicts “very disrupted” service on the city’s transport network. But many have blasted the reforms as ill-timed at best; at worst, an insult to hard-working people in France. “This reform falls at a moment where there is lots of anger, lots of frustration, lots of fatigue.

☆ 6 stabbed in Paris train station, attacker shot by police
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A knife attacker wounded six people in an unprovoked attack in Paris’ busy Gare du Nord train station Wednesday morning before being shot by police, the French interior minister said. The man had attacked several people, including a police officer, with a “bladed weapon” at around 6:43 a.m. local time (12:43 a.m. He said the unnamed assailant was currently “between life and death” in a hospital. The officer was stabbed in the back by the assailant, but was saved by a bulletproof vest, Darmanin said. Another one of the other victims was seriously injured in the shoulder blade and taken for emergency treatment.

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

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. BFM TV said police had used a gun to stop the man.

☆ 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.

PARIS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - A gunman killed three people at a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby Kurdish cafe in central Paris on Friday, prompting violent protests in nearby streets as night fell. President Emmanuel Macron said France's Kurdish community had been the target of a heinous attack. All three of those who died were Kurdish, a lawyer for the Kurdish cultural centre told Reuters. Julien Verplancke who works at another local restaurant, Chez Minna, said staff from the Kurdish restaurant emerged from the premise in tears after the shooting. Salih Azad, a prominent figure from the Kurdish community in Marseille, said he knew one of the victims, a 26-year-old woman who had lived in Paris for several years.

☆ 5 children among 10 dead in France apartment fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

At least ten people, including five children, were killed after a fire broke out overnight Friday at an apartment building near the French city of Lyon, officials said. First responders were first alerted to the fire at the 7-story building in the Vaulx-en-Velin suburb at around 3:12 a.m. local time (9:12 p.m. Officials said a preliminary death toll found that 10 people had died, with five children among them. Four others were left in critical condition, while 10 sustained minor injuries, including two firefighters, they said. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he would be visiting the site along with France's housing minister on Friday morning.

"I am sad and proud at the same time", said Thomas Bregas, a young Franco-Moroccan wrapped in a Morocco flag. Morocco had a shot at becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup final, but France are now poised to become the first team to retain their World Cup title in 60 years on Sunday. He added that Moroccans had nothing to be ashamed of after an "extraordinary" World Cup journey. In Paris, Police were gearing up for possible skirmishes, after scuffles followed last week's Moroccan quarter-final win over Portugal. Morocco fans in France had been in a celebratory frenzy ever since their team went on its historic World Cup journey, becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the last four in the global showpiece event.

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