France

PARIS, June 27 (Reuters) - France holds run-offs for regional elections on Sunday that could shift the balance between political heavyweights vying for pole position in next year's presidential race.

Last Sunday's first round proved dire for President Emmanuel Macron, whose party is on course to win none of France's 13 mainland regions, but was also disappointing for far-right leader Marine Le Pen. 

PARIS, June 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that it will be “very difficult” for the United States to return to the nuclear deal with Iran if ongoing negotiations drag on.

“There will come a time when, yes, it will be very difficult to return to the parameters established by the agreement,” the head of US diplomacy said during a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves le Drian.

PARIS, June 25 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog on Friday demanded an immediate reply from Iran on whether it would extend a monitoring agreement that expired overnight, prompting an Iranian envoy to respond that Tehran was under no obligation to provide an answer.

The agreement continued the International Atomic Energy Agency's collection of data on some of Tehran's activities, cushioning the blow of Iran's decision in February to reduce cooperation with the agency.

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) Pakistan continues to remain in the 'Grey List' of FATF as the global body against money laundering and terror financing on Friday said that Islamabad has failed to take action against UN-designated terrorists like India's most wanted Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.

The FATF also said that Pakistan should continue to work to address its strategically-important deficiencies.

PARIS, June 25 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron defended on Friday a failed attempt by France and Germany to hold an EU summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after eastern European leaders shot down the initiative they said would send the wrong message to Moscow.

The meeting proposed by Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which have both sought to take a less confrontational attitude with Russia in recent years, fractured EU leaders gathered in Brussels along an old East-West divide.

PARIS (AP) — The trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy concludes Tuesday in Paris, after a month during which the court sought to determine whether he broke laws on campaign financing in his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid.

The verdict is expected to be rendered at a later date. Prosecutors have requested a six-month prison term, as well as a six-month suspended sentence and a fine of 3,750 euros ($4,468).

PARIS, June 21 (Reuters) - The first round results of France's regional elections marked a form of failure for President Emmanuel Macron's party, said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday, although he added it was too soon to draw conclusions for the 2022 Presidential vote.

France's far right performed worse than predicted in Sunday's regional elections, exit polls showed, and the centre-right made a comeback while the vote as a whole was impacted by a high abstention rate.

Paris, Jun 20 (AP-PTI) Marine Le Pen's far right party is riding high on her tough-on-security, stop-immigration message as French voters start choosing regional leaders Sunday in an election that's seen as a dress rehearsal for next year's presidential vote.

President Emmanuel Macron's young centrist party is expected to fare poorly, lacking a strong local political base and suffering from frustration at his government's handling of the pandemic.

PARIS (AP) — A school undergoing construction work collapsed in the Belgian city of Antwerp, killing five workers and injuring nine others, according to local authorities. An investigation is underway into the cause of the accident.

Firefighters and rescue dogs labored through the night after Friday’s accident to pull out the victims one by one, while the construction company cleared rubble and worked to secure the site, according to a running account on Twitter by the Antwerp fire service.

19 June 2021; MEMO: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday welcomed what he described as the end of verbal altercations between Paris and Ankara, and demanded in return real initiatives from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a series of contentious issues.

Le Drian told BFM TV: "There is a truce in verbal attacks. It is a good thing, but it is not enough," considering that the bilateral ties between the two sides are "in a stage of recovery".