France

PARIS, March 2 (Reuters) - France and Germany have seized two superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs, French authorities and Forbes magazine said, hitting Russia's super-rich under sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

At least five other superyachts owned by Russian billionaires are anchored or cruising in the Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation, ship tracking data showed. 

PARIS, February 27. /TASS/. France is set to toughen economic sanctions against Russia and increase its supplies of military equipment to Ukraine, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing a statement of the presidential administration.

During a session of the country’s security and national defense council on Saturday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron "made a decision to toughen economic and financial sanctions in coordination with European countries and the United States."

25 Feb 2022; MEMO: France's Interior Minister announced that he is banning two Palestine solidarity organisations at the request of French President, Emmanuel Macron.

Gerald Darmanin tweeted yesterday that he will move to dissolve Palestine Vaincra (Palestine Will Win) and Comité Palestine Action (Palestine Action Committee).

"Under the cover of supporting the Palestinian cause, the government accuses the groups of promoting hatred of Israel," French newspaper, Europe 1, reported.

PARIS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Friday he had resigned from the boards of two Russian firms in protest over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"This is a collective failure, but in the hierarchy of responsibilities, Vladimir Putin alone is guilty of having started a preventable conflict," Fillon wrote in an opinion piece for French weekly paper Le Journal du Dimanche.

PARIS, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of major wildfires worldwide will rise sharply in coming decades due to global warming, and governments are ill-prepared for the death and destruction such mega-blazes trail in their wake, the UN warned Wednesday.

     Even the most ambitious efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions will not prevent a dramatic surge in the frequency of extreme fire conditions, a report commissioned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded.

PARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - French lawyer Sarah Asmeta wears a hijab at work but that means she is banned by her local Bar Council from representing clients in the courtroom.

She has been fighting to overturn that rule.

Next Wednesday, France's highest court is due to rule on Asmeta's case in a judgment that could set a nationwide precedent and will resonate in a country where the hijab - a headscarf worn by some Muslim women - has become a flashpoint in a debate over identity and immigration.

PARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Opposition contenders in France's upcoming leadership election mocked President Emmanuel Macron's diplomatic efforts in the Ukraine crisis, accusing him of putting up a show for electoral gains.

However, they also found their own past comments and dealings with Russia coming under scrutiny.

Macron has led European efforts to avert war in Ukraine, flying to Moscow earlier this month to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and spending hours on the phone with him and other world leaders over the past weeks to mediate.

PARIS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin pledged to "avoid an escalation, reduce risks and preserve peace" in eastern Ukraine during a phone call on Sunday, the French presidential office said in a press release.

Paris, Feb 21 (PTI) India and France have inked a roadmap to enhance their bilateral exchanges on the blue economy and forge a common vision of ocean governance based on the rule of law and cooperate on sustainable and resilient coastal and waterways infrastructure.

The agreement was signed during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's three-day visit to France which began on Sunday with bilateral talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.

PARIS, February 20. /TASS/: French President Emmanuel Macron has received an assurance from his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Russia will withdraw its troops from Belarus as soon as their joint drills are over, France Presse said on Sunday, citing a Elysee Palace spokesperson.

"We will have to verify it and it may take some time," the official said.

The Elysee Palace said earlier that the two leaders agreed to organize a Trilateral Contact Group meeting to receive commitments to cease fire along the contact line in Donbass from all the sides.