France

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - France's far-right scored a historic success in legislative elections on Sunday increasing its number of lawmakers almost tenfold and cementing the party's rise from fringe status to the mainstream opposition.

Since taking the helm of the party in 2011, leader Marine Le Pen has sought to rid the National Front - now called the National Rally (RN) - of the anti-Semitic image it acquired under the nearly 40-year leadership of her father, ex-paratrooper Jean-Marie Le Pen.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance was projected to lose its majority despite getting the most seats in the final round of parliamentary elections Sunday, while the far-right National Rally appeared to have made big gains.

The projections, which are based on partial results, say Macron’s candidates would win between 230 and 250 seats — much less than the 289 required to have a straight majority at the National Assembly, France’s most powerful house of parliament.

PARIS (AP) — French voters are going to the polls in the final round of key parliamentary elections that will demonstrate how much legroom President Emmanuel Macron’s party will be given to implement his ambitious domestic agenda.

In last week’s first vote, the left, under firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, made a surprisingly strong showing, sending jitters through Macron’s allies.

PARIS, June 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine alone should decide whether or not to accept any territorial concessions towards Russia in view of ending the war, French President Emmanuel Macron told TF1 television in an interview as he visited Kyiv.

"This is up to Ukraine to decide," Macron said when asked what concessions, including on its territory, Ukraine should accept, adding: "I think it is our duty to stand by our values, by international law and thus by Ukraine."

 PARIS, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poor countries are expected to suffer the most from worldwide food crises exacerbated by the war in Ukraine as they will be forced to pay more for less food, the United Nations warned.

The global food import bill was on course to hit a new record of $1.8 trillion this year as the Ukraine conflict pushes up cereal and grain prices.

But it was higher prices and transport costs rather than volumes that would account for the bulk of the expected increase, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization wrote in its latest Food Outlook.

PARIS, June 10 (Reuters) - France is unwilling to make concessions to Russia and wants Ukraine to win the war against Moscow's invading forces with its territorial integrity restored, a French presidential official said on Friday, as Paris seeks to assuage concerns over its stance in the conflict.

President Emmanuel Macron has been criticised by Ukraine and eastern European allies after published interviews on Saturday quoting him as saying it was vital not to "humiliate" Russia so that when the fighting ends there could be a diplomatic solution.

PARIS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A preliminary investigation was opened here on Thursday following complaints alleging salmonella poisoning in children who had consumed Kinder chocolates produced by Ferrero, the Italian confectionery giant, the Paris Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday.

The investigation was opened on the counts of "involuntary attacks on physical integrity" and "endangering the lives of others," the French daily Le Figaro reported, citing the Prosecutor's Office.

PARIS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Airbus signed a follow-on Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) contract with the U.S. Army, the European multinational aerospace corporation said in a press release on Monday.

The deal is the largest helicopter performance-based support contract managed by Airbus worldwide, it said.

Airbus will provide spare parts, material, and engineering support for the Army's helicopter models UH-72A and UH-72B Lakota fleet of 482 utility and training helicopters. It will support 67 Lakota sites in the United States and overseas.

24 May 2022; MEMO: The killing of a guard at the Qatar Embassy in Paris in the early hours of Monday was a "heinous and unjustified" crime, the Embassy said, as French prosecutors opened an investigation, Reuters reports.

The incident did not appear to have any links to terrorism, a source close to the probe said.

The incident took place at around 0630 (0430 GMT), the source said, adding that the suspect had entered the Embassy and had a row with the security guard, who died after being punched.

21 May 2022; MEMO: A French appeals court confirms a charge of complicity in crimes against humanity against the cement group, Lafarge, over alleged payoffs to the Daesh terror group during Syria's civil war, France 24 reports.

According to the report, a court in Paris has indicted the French company, Lafarge, for their "complicity in crimes against humanity" in Syria.