France

PARIS, May 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A dozen African leaders, several European leaders and a dozen heads of international organizations will be received on Tuesday May 18 by French president Emmanuel Macron for a summit on the revival of the African economy, and the impact of the pandemic.

The aim of the summit, the Elysee says, is to put in place financial resources capable of reviving the economy of the continent, which has seen only 130,000 deaths from Covid according to official figures, but whose GDP should experience its first recession in 25 years in 2021.

(Reuters) --- A French move to delay a European Union financial services deal with Britain over fishing access is another example of the bloc issuing threats at any sign of difficulty, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.

Paris has said it will delay the financial services deal until Johnson grants EU fishermen fair access to British waters, a source familiar with the French move said on Wednesday. 

(Reuters) --- Paris has said it will delay a European Union financial services deal with Britain until Prime Minister Boris Johnson grants European fishermen fair access to UK waters, a source familiar with the French move said on Wednesday.

"We've made a link between the two," the source said.

The post-Brexit dispute over access to the UK's rich fishing grounds last week saw France and Britain send patrol vessels to the Channel island of Jersey as French trawlers protested there. 

PARIS (AP) — France’s prime minister is proposing tougher and faster punishment for people who attack the police, as the government pays a national tribute to the latest police officer killed in the line of duty.

Prime Minister Jean Castex will lead Tuesday’s ceremony in the southern city of Avignon to honor officer Eric Masson, killed last week in an apparent drug-related incident. Four people have been arrested in the homicide investigation, the regional prosecutor said.

PARIS (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for bringing France out of the pandemic aren’t just about resuscitating long-closed restaurants, boutiques and museums. They are also about preparing his possible campaign for a second term.

A year before the next presidential election, Macron is focusing on saving jobs and reviving the pandemic-battered French economy as his country inches out of its third partial lockdown.

PARIS, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France’s National Assembly approved climate protection legislation that included input from a specially convened citizens’ panel but which activists argue does not go nearly far enough.

The bill, which was passed in the lower house by 332 to 77 votes, bans certain domestic short-haul flights if an alternative train exists whose travel time does not exceed two-and-a-half hours.

(Reuters) --- France said on Tuesday it will begin delivering 30 Dassault warplanes to Egypt from 2024 in a 4 billion euro ($4.8 billion) deal, as it strengthens ties with a partner it considers vital in fighting Islamist militants.

In December, President Emmanuel Macron drew criticism from rights groupswhen he said he would not make the sale of weapons to Egypt conditional on human rights because he did not want to weaken Cairo's ability to counter militancy in the region.

(Reuters) --- The French prosecutor's department said on Monday that there were no grounds to pursue legal claims that France bore responsibility for enabling the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Rwanda last month published a report in which it said that France was aware that genocide was being prepared in Rwanda ahead of the killings. 

PARIS, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The novel coronavirus has killed at least 3,182,408 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources as at 1000 GMT on Saturday.

At least 151,307,700 cases of coronavirus have been registered. The vast majority have recovered, though some have continued to experience symptoms weeks or even months later.

(Reuters) --- French President Emmanuel Macron's centre-right party has formed an alliance with the conservative Les Republicains (LR) for regional elections in June in the southern Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region, the prime minister was cited as saying on Sunday.

Coming a year after Macron’s La Republique en Marche (LREM) party got trounced in municipal elections, the alliance shows a recognition within the ruling party that it is too weak and unpopular to win some regions on its own.