France

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron may be ahead in the presidential race so far, but he warned his supporters that “nothing is done” and his runoff battle with far-right challenger Marine Le Pen will be a hard fight. And she’s ready for it.

The duel is starting Monday, after the two came out on top in Sunday’s first-round vote. The centrist Macron is heading to an economically depressed area of northern France where a majority of voters chose Le Pen, close to her electoral stronghold of Henin-Beaumont.

PARIS, April 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — After two years of racing to vaccinate the world against Covid-19, the number of available doses now surpasses demand in many areas.

Yet a gap remains in vaccination rates between the richest and poorest countries.

On Friday, Gavi, which co-leads the Covax global distribution scheme, is holding a summit calling for more funds to address the issue of inequality in vaccine access.

PARIS (AP) — France’s presidential race involves one frontrunner, centrist incumbent Emmanuel Macron, and eleven challengers from the far left to the far right. The two top candidates in Sunday’s first round qualify for the April 24 runoff.

Here’s a look at the main contenders’ key proposals.

EMMANUEL MACRON, 44, centrist incumbent, head of the Republic on the Move party

PARIS (AP) — Polls opened across France Sunday for the first round of the country’s presidential election, where up to 48 million eligible voters will be choosing between 12 candidates. President Emmanuel Macron is seeking a second five-year term, with a strong challenge from the far right.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. Sunday and close at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) in most places and an hour later in some larger cities. France operates a manual system for elections: Voters are obliged to cast ballots in person, ones that will be hand-counted when the voting closes.

Paris, Apr 9 (AP) From the market stall outside Paris that she's run for 40 years, Yvette Robert can see first-hand how soaring prices are weighing on France's presidential election and turning the first round of voting on Sunday into a nail-biter for incumbent President Emmanuel Macron.

Shoppers, increasingly worried about how to make ends meet, are buying ever-smaller quantities of Robert's neatly stacked fruits and vegetables, she says.

POISSY, France (AP) — From the market stall outside Paris that she’s run for 40 years, Yvette Robert can see first-hand how soaring prices are weighing on France’s presidential election and turning the first round of voting on Sunday into a nail-biter for incumbent President Emmanuel Macron.

PARIS, April 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — World food prices hit an all-time high in March as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent “shocks” through markets for staple grains and vegetable oils, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.

The disruption in export flows resulting from the Feb 24 invasion and international sanctions against Russia has spurred fears of a global hunger crisis, especially across the Middle East and Africa, where the knock-on effects are already playing out.

PARIS, April 8 (Reuters) - France's rising far-right is playing on the fears of the people, President Emmanuel Macron said in his last scheduled interview before Sunday's first-round presidential vote while his forecast lead over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen further evaporated.

The race appeared to be coming down to the two finalists of the 2017 election. Macron entered the race as a clear favourite but appears to have lost ground in opinion polls while Le Pen trends upward. 

06 April 2022; MEMO: French-Palestinian human rights defender, Salah Hamouri, yesterday filed a complaint in France against notorious Israeli spyware maker Pegasus for spying on his mobile phone, Amnesty International revealed.

Hamouri filed the complaint together with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Human Rights League (LDH).

SPEZET, France, April 5 (Reuters) - Strolling around a small town in northwestern France, beaming to crowds shouting "Macron President!," Emmanuel Macron sought to revive a lacklustre campaign whose increasingly uncertain outcome rattled markets on Tuesday.

Macron is still ahead in opinion polls but his far-right, eurosceptic rival Marine Le Pen has been closing the gap, and a poll on Monday put victory within the margin of error, unnerving investors ahead of Sunday's first round.